Black and Hispanic Unemployment in America Reach Record Lows

(Bloomberg) -- Unemployment rates among black people and Hispanics in the U.S. hit record lows last month amid a widespread tightening of the labor market.

Black unemployment fell to 6.6 percent in April, the lowest in data dating back to 1972, while the jobless rate among Hispanics dipped to 4.8 percent, matching the lowest on record, Labor Department figures showed Friday. Black and Hispanic jobless rates are generally more volatile than the overall unemployment figure, which fell below 4 percent last month for the first time since 2000.

The White House was quick to take credit for the decline in joblessness, with presidential adviser Ivanka Trump tweeting on Friday that unemployment data show “our economic agenda is indisputably working.” Her father, President Donald Trump, has frequently touted in tweets and rallies the drop in black and Hispanic unemployment rates.

To contact the reporter on this story: Randall Woods in Washington at rwoods13@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sarah McGregor at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net, Scott Lanman, Vince Golle

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