The Unemployment Rate For December Fell Slightly To 4.4%

The Labor department released its unemployment report for December on Friday. The economy remained sluggish, producing only about 50,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate for December was 4.4% (about 0.1% below November).

Here are the relevant statistics for December:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

171,495,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,503,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.4%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.9%

Adult women...............3.9%

Teens (16-19)...............15.7%

Whites...............3.8%

Blacks...............7.5%

Asians...............3.6%

Hispanics...............4.5%

No HS diploma...............5.6%

HS graduate...............4.0%

Some college...............3.8%

Bachelor's degree or more...............2.8%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but no longer counted):

1,758,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED (official + marginally-attached):

9,261,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.4%