6 PART 1: RECENT ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENTS 2. Measures of labor underutilization Percent U-4 10 2008 010 NOTE: Unemployment rate measures total unemployed as a percentage of the labor force. U-4 measures total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a SOURcE: Bureau of Labor Statistics via Haver Analytics. Unemployment rates have declined across demographic groups, but unemployment remains high for some groups 3. Labor force participation rates an Unemployment rates have trended downward mployment-to-population ratio across racial and ethnic groups(figure 4). The decline in the unemployment rate for blacks or Percent African Americans over the past few years has been particularly notable. This broad pattern Labor force participation ral is typical: The unemployment rates for blacks and Hispanics tend to rise considerably more than the rates for whites and asians during recessions, and then they decline more rapidly during expansions. Yet even with the recent Employmenl-lo-population rato narrowing, the disparities in unemployment labor force participation rat rates across demographic groups remain substantial and largely the same as before the ⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥⊥1」 recession. The unemployment rate for whites has averaged 3.7 percent since the middle of NOTE: The data are monthly. The prime-age labor force participation rat of the population aged 25 to 54. The labor force participation 2017 and the rate for Asians has been about loyment-to-population ratio are percentages of the population 3.3 percent, while the unemployment rates for reau of Labor Statistics via Haver Analytics. Hispanics or Latinos(5.0 percent)and blacks (7.3 percent) have been substantially higher In addition, the labor force participation rates for blacks, Hispanics, and Asians have generally been lower than those for whites of the same age group. As the labor market6 Part 1: Recent Economic and Financial Developments Employment-to-population ratio Prime-age labor force participation rate 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 Percent 80 81 82 83 84 85 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 3. Labor force participation rates and employment-to-population ratio Percent Labor force participation rate NOTE: The data are monthly. The prime-age labor force participation rate is a percentage of the population aged 25 to 54. The labor force participation rate and the employment-to-population ratio are percentages of the population aged 16 and over. SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics via Haver Analytics. Unemployment rates have declined across demographic groups, but unemployment remains high for some groups Unemployment rates have trended downward across racial and ethnic groups (figure 4). The decline in the unemployment rate for blacks or African Americans over the past few years has been particularly notable. This broad pattern is typical: The unemployment rates for blacks and Hispanics tend to rise considerably more than the rates for whites and Asians during recessions, and then they decline more rapidly during expansions. Yet even with the recent narrowing, the disparities in unemployment rates across demographic groups remain substantial and largely the same as before the recession. The unemployment rate for whites has averaged 3.7 percent since the middle of 2017 and the rate for Asians has been about 3.3 percent, while the unemployment rates for Hispanics or Latinos (5.0 percent) and blacks (7.3 percent) have been substantially higher. In addition, the labor force participation rates for blacks, Hispanics, and Asians have generally been lower than those for whites of the same age group. As the labor market U-5 U-4 U-6 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Percent 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2. Measures of labor underutilization Monthly Unemployment rate NOTE: Unemployment rate measures total unemployed as a percentage of the labor force. U-4 measures total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percentage of the labor force plus discouraged workers. Discouraged workers are a subset of marginally attached workers who are not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. U-5 measures total unemployed plus all marginally attached to the labor force, as a percentage of the labor force plus persons marginally attached to the labor force. Marginally attached workers are not in the labor force, want and are available for work, and have looked for a job in the past 12 months. U-6 measures total unemployed plus all marginally attached workers plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percentage of the labor force plus all marginally attached workers. The shaded bar indicates a period of business recession as defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics via Haver Analytics