Steady job growth in May once again benefited American women over men.
Unemployment for adult women, those 20 and older, fell for the third time in four months to 6.5 percent. That's the lowest since January 2009, when it was the same rate. While unemployment rose for adult white women, at 5.8 percent it was still among the lowest for any group.
Adult men haven't fared quite as well. The rate for men 20 and older rose for the second straight month, to 7.2 percent. In March, it was 6.9 percent.
And May was even worse for adult black men: their unemployment rate spiked to 13.5 percent, up from 12.6 in April.
Teenagers continued to have a difficult time in the job market last month. Unemployment for that group increased to 24.5 percent.
The latest figures reinforced the old adage that it pays to have a college degree. Unemployment for college graduates ticked down to 3.8 percent.
Here are some details from the government's report:
| Unemployment rates for: | |||
| (Numbers in percentages) | May 2013 | April 2013 | May 2012 |
| White: | 6.7 | 6.7 | 7.4 |
| Black: | 13.5 | 13.2 | 13.6 |
| Hispanic: | 9.1 | 9.0 | 11.0 |
| Asian*: | 4.3 | 5.1 | 5.2 |
| Adult men: | 7.2 | 7.1 | 7.7 |
| Adult women: | 6.5 | 6.7 | 7.3 |
| Teenagers: | 24.5 | 24.1 | 24.4 |
| 20-24 years old: | 13.2 | 13.1 | 13.0 |
| 25-54 years old: | 6.4 | 6.4 | 7.1 |
| 55 and over: | 5.3 | 5.5 | 6.5 |
| Veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan*: | 12.7 | 7.5 | 7.3 |
| No high school diploma: | 11.1 | 11.6 | 13.0 |
| High school graduate: | 7.4 | 7.4 | 8.2 |
| Some college: | 6.5 | 6.4 | 7.8 |
| College graduates: | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
| Duration of Unemployment | |||
| Average length (weeks): | 36.9 | 36.5 | 39.6 |
| Jobless 6 months or more (pct.): | 37.3 | 37.4 | 42.4 |
| * not seasonally adjusted | |||
| Source: Labor Department |
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