GRAPHIC-Racial gap in U.S. unemployment narrowest since May

The gap in unemployment rates between Blacks and whites in the United States narrowed in November for a third straight month, a modest bright spot in a monthly employment report that fell far short of expectations, with the fewest jobs overall created in six months.

The gap in unemployment rates between Blacks and whites in the United States narrowed in November for a third straight month, a modest bright spot in a monthly employment report that fell far short of expectations, with the fewest jobs overall created in six months. The jobless rate for Blacks dropped by 0.5 percentage point to 10.3% from 10.8%, while the rate for whites edged lower by 0.1 point to 5.9% from 6.0% a month earlier, data from the U.S. Labor Department showed on Friday.

The 4.4 percentage point gap was the narrowest in six months, matching the level recorded in May, when it began rapidly widening as the job market's recovery from record employment losses in March and April benefited whites far more than Blacks. Overall, the U.S. unemployment rate fell more than expected last month to 6.7% from 6.9% in October, even as just 245,000 jobs were created, roughly half what was expected.