The U.S. unemployment rate edged up to 6.7% in February as men struggled to find work, according to the Labor Department report issued Friday.
More than 160,000 men joined the ranks of the unemployed. That increase raised their unemployment rate to 6.4% from 6.2%.
Particularly hard hit were African-American men. Their rate climbed to 12.9% last month from 12% in January. It did so because more African-American men began searching unsuccessfully for work last month.
African-American women fared much better: 109,000 of them found jobs.
The Labor Department said the economy overall added 175,000 jobs last month.
College graduates are more likely to hold a job than are workers with less education. But February proved frustrating for many college grads. More than a quarter-million of them lost jobs after businesses had stepped up hiring of people with bachelor's degrees in January. This group's unemployment rate, while still far below the national rate, rose to 3.4% from 3.2%.
| Unemployment rate by group | |||
| (Numbers in percentages) | Feb. 2014 | Jan. 2014 | Feb. 2013 |
| White | 5.8 | 5.7 | 6.8 |
| Black | 12 | 12.1 | 13.8 |
| Asian* | 6 | 4.8 | 6.1 |
| Adult men | 6.4 | 6.2 | 7.2 |
| Adult women | 5.9 | 5.9 | 7 |
| Teenagers | 21.4 | 20.7 | 25.2 |
| 20-24 years old | 11.9 | 11.9 | 13.1 |
| 25-54 years old | 5.8 | 5.6 | 6.5 |
| 55 and over | 4.6 | 4.5 | 5.8 |
| Veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan* | 9.2 | 7.9 | 9.4 |
| No high school diploma | 9.8 | 9.6 | 11.2 |
| High school graduate | 6.4 | 6.5 | 7.9 |
| Some college | 6.2 | 6 | 6.7 |
| College graduates | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
| Duration of Unemployment | |||
| Average length (weeks) | 16.4 | 16 | 17.7 |
| Jobless 6 months or more (pct) | 37 | 35.8 | 39.7 |
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*Not seasonally adjusted |
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Source: Labor Department |
