Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: October 2021 Report Edition

On November 5th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of October. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth staff highlighting important trends in the data.

Total nonfarm employment rose by 531,000 in October, and the prime-age employment rate for prime-age workers rose to 78.3 percent.

The unemployment rate declined to 4.6 percent in October, remaining higher for Black workers (7.9 percent) and Latinx workers (5.9 percent) compared with White workers (4.0 percent) and Asian workers (4.2 percent).

Unemployment rates are markedly higher for workers with lower levels of education, at 7.4 percent for those with less than a high school degree and 5.4 percent for high school graduates. The unemployment rate is 4.4 percent for workers with some college, and 2.4 percent for college graduates.

Public-sector employment fell in October and remains significantly below pre-crisis levels, while private sector employment continued to see more rapid gains.

The proportion of unemployed U.S. workers facing long-term unemployment decreased in October but remains elevated, as 45.0 percent of unemployed workers have now been out of work for more than 15 weeks.