Strong jobs market boosts demographic groups that usually lag in employment
Strong jobs market boosts demographic groups that usually lag in employment
As unemployment continues to fall and employers scramble to find the workers they need, demographic groups that traditionally lag economically are benefiting. The unemployment rate for African-Americans fell to 7.1 percent in June, just shy of the all-time low of 7 percent hit in April 2000. Unemployment rates for young people and those with a high school education or less are also now at or near pre-recession lows. The Economic Policy Institute, meanwhile, reports that some of the strongest percentage gains in wages over the past year have been among those with less education and those at the bottom of the income ladder, indicating that minimum-wage hikes across the country are having an impact, and that employers are struggling to fill the lowest-skilled jobs in their organizations.
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