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WASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rates for recent veterans and less educated Americans fell to record lows in July.
The rate for those who have served in the armed forces anytime since September 2001 dropped to 3 percent, the lowest level on record since 2006.
The strong job market is starting to benefit lower-skilled workers as well. The jobless rate for Americans without high school diplomas dropped to 5.1 percent, the lowest level on record going back to 1992.
All told, employers added 157,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent, from 4 percent.
The data for demographic groups came from a survey of households that is part of the Labor Department's monthly jobs report
| Unemployment rate by group: | |||
| (Numbers in percentages) | July 2018 | June 2018 | July 2017 |
| White | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
| Black | 6.6 | 6.5 | 7.4 |
| Asian | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
| Hispanic or Latino ethnicity\* | 4.5 | 4.6 | 5.1 |
| Adult men | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
| Adult women | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
| Teenagers | 13.1 | 12.6 | 13.3 |
| 20-24 years old | 6.9 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| 25-54 years old | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
| 55 and over | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| Veterans of Iraq/Afghanistan\* | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.6 |
| No high school diploma | 5.1 | 5.5 | 7.0 |
| High school graduate | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
| Some college | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.7 |
| College graduate | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| Duration of Unemployment: | |||
| Average length (weeks) | 23.2 | 21.2 | 25.0 |
| Jobless 6 months or more (pct.) | 22.7 | 23.0 | 25.4 |
| \*Includes all races | |||
| Source: Labor Department | |||
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