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Seasonal Unemployment Rate Differences by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender, Accessible Data
Figure 1. Standard deviation of seasonal patterns
Figure 1 plots the standard deviation of unemployment rate seasonal patterns across groups. Bars display these differences across our six groups of interest, while the vertical black lines provide comparison for females, males, and all workers. The x-axis has a range of [0, 0.7], and units are percentage point. The figure shows that Hispanic males’ seasonality is the most volatile, while white females’ seasonality is the least volatile. Males also have a significantly greater seasonal variation than females.
Figure 2 and 3. Average difference from overall male and female by race and ethnicity
Figures 2 and 3 plot the race or ethnicity differences in unemployment rate seasonality within gender, averaged for each month across data. The x-axis displays calendar months. The y-axis has a range of [-1.25, 1.25], and units are percentage points.
Figure 2 displays the differences for males and is constructed by subtracting the overall males’ seasonal pattern from the seasonality of Black males (blue line) , Hispanic males (green line), and white males (red line), separately.
Similarly, figure 3 displays the differences for females and is constructed by subtracting the overall females’ seasonal pattern from the seasonality of of Black females (blue line), Hispanic females (green line), and white females (red line), separately.
The figures show that differences in unemployment rate seasonality by race and ethnicity, within gender, do not have a discernable pattern. Furthermore, differences are small (within plus or minus 0.75 percentage point for males and plus or minus 0.50 percentage point for females).
Figure 4. Average male minus female difference by race and ethnicity
Figure 4 plots the gender difference in unemployment rate seasonality within race and ethnicity, averaged for each month across the data. The x-axis displays calendar months. The y-axis has a range of [-1.25, 1.25], and units are percentage points. The blue line indicates the Black gender difference, the green line indicates the Hispanic gender difference, and the red line indicates the white gender difference.
In contrast to figures 2 and 3, the differences between genders within race and ethnicity have clear cycles. Within race and ethnicity, males have higher seasonal unemployment rates than females in the winter months, and females have higher seasonal unemployment rates than males in the summer months.
Figure 5. Correlations of seasonal patterns
Figure 5 documents the correlation of unemployment rate seasonal patterns between each group displayed as a heat map. Correlations are color-coded as a gradient, with strong positive correlations shown in red and strong negative correlations shown in blue. Correlations in seasonality between genders within the same race and ethnicity are lower than correlations between race and ethnicity within gender.
Pearson Correlation
| White males | Hispanic males | Black males | Black females | White females | Hispanic females | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic females | 1 | |||||
| White females | 1 | 0.85 | ||||
| Black females | 1 | 0.82 | 0.67 | |||
| Black males | 1 | 0.17 | 0.4 | 0.58 | ||
| Hispanic males | 1 | 0.78 | -0.21 | 0.08 | 0.35 | |
| White males | 1 | 0.95 | 0.81 | -0.27 | 0.04 | 0.25 |