The U.S. unemployment rate rose in May but decreased for Latino workers, according to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Labor. The overall unemployment rate last month was 3.7 percent, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous month. However, Latino women saw their unemployment rate dropped to 3.4 percent, down 0.7 percentage points compared to April. Latino men also experienced a reduction in the unemployment rate, from 4.1 percent in April to 4 percent in May. Overall, the unemployment rate among Latinos decreased to 4 percent in May, compared with 4.4 percent theprevious month.

According to CNBC, researcher Carmen Sanchez Cumming, from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, comments that this reduction in the Latino unemployment rate is historic and points out that there have been only two other occasions when it has reached this level, in November 2022 and September 2019. Cumming said the recovery has been particularly strong for Hispanic and black workers in the first half of 2023.

On the other hand, unemployment for black workers overall rose in May, with the rate rising 0.9 percentage points to 5.6 percent, compared with 4.7 percent in April. For both black men and black women, the unemployment rate also rose in May. These data lead Cumming to point out that the outcomes of Latino and black workers are more sensitive to fluctuations in the business cycle. When the labor market is strong, they benefit disproportionately, but when it is weak, they are disproportionately harmed.

The CNBC article points out that there is monthly volatility in the data and it's important to look at long-term trends. Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, says the black unemployment rate is falling over the long term, approaching the level of three months ago despite the increase in May. The labor force participation rate for the total population remained at 62.6 percent in May. Among black men, there was an increase to 68.2 percent, compared to 67.8 percent in April. For black women, the rate remained stable at 63.9%. For Latino men, the labor force participation rate was 79.5 percent, while for Latino women  it was 61.2 percent, remaining the same as in April.

Given the data presented, CNBC concludes that the unemployment rate increased in the U.S. in May, but there was a drop for Latino workers. On the other hand, unemployment among black workers has increased, emphasizing that the results of these groups are sensitive to economic fluctuations.