Age Group Synopsis

Overall: 4.1 up from 3.4

16-19: 12.3 up from 9.3

20-24: 7.9 up from 5.4

25-34: 4.1 up from 3.6

45-54: 2.5 up from 2.1

55+: 2.7 up from 2.3

The overall, 16-19, and 20-24 age group unemployment rates all bottomed in April of 2023.

Since then, the overall unemployment rate increased by 0.6 percentage points, age group 16-19 by 4.0 percentage points, and age group 20-24 by 2.5 percentage points.

Young voters have been hammered on a relative basis.

The unemployment rate of blacks has jumped from 4.8 percent to 6.1 percent while that of whites rose from 3.0 percent to 3.5 percent.

For Hispanics, the unemployment rate jumped from 4.1 percent to 5.0 percent.

I have been talking about the plight of young people and blacks since February. Mainstream media is just now catching on.

Economic Data Paint a Picture of Two Americas

The Wall Street Journal reports Economic Data Paint a Picture of Two Americas

The rich are feeling confident, but lower-income households are growing cautious.

A growing disconnect between the fortunes of upper- and lower-income Americans could account for some of the crossed signals.

In the latest shocker, the Labor Department reported on Friday that the U.S. added 272,000 jobs in May, up from 165,000 in April and much higher than economists' expectations. The strong reading is especially perplexing because it comes on the heels of a string of weak economic reports in recent weeks, including soft income and spending data for the month of April and a lower-than-expected reading on manufacturing sentiment in May.