Jobs Report: Hispanic Unemployment Remains the Same

Dec. 07, 2012— -- The economy is still struggling to gain momentum according to the new jobs report released Friday by the Department of Labor.

Unemployment edged down to 7.7 percent in November , from 7.9 percent in October after dropping below 8 percent to 7.8 percent in September for the first time in nearly four years.

There were 12 million unemployed workers, compared with 12.3 million unemployed workers in October.

The economy added about 146,000 nonfarm jobs in November. The Department of Labor revised nonfarm job gains in October to 138,000 from an original estimate of 171,000.

Employment in retail trade, professional and business services, and healthcare increased in November. Employment in construction edged down in November, while employment in manufacturing, mining and logging, and transportation showed little change.

The Hispanic unemployment rate remains higher than the national average at 10 percent, which is unchanged from the Hispanic unemployment rate in October.

Hurricane Sandy was expected to play a role in the November jobs report, but according to a statement by the Department of Labor, "Hurricane Sandy did not substantively impact the national employment and unemployment estimates for November."