While the overall U.S. unemployment rate was unchanged for November at 5.8 percent, the Latino unemployment rate declined during the same period.

Based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the overall Latino unemployment rate is 6.6 percent after November, which is a decline of 0.2 percent from October's 6.8 percent. In comparison to November 2013, the Latino unemployment rate declined by two percentage points, or from 8.6 percent.

According to the National Council of La Raza's (NCLR) Monthly Latino Employment Report, Latino employment opportunities came strongly in the retail sector in November with a gain of 50,200 jobs, 41,700 from administrative and waste services, 27,300 from accommodation and food services and 20,000 in construction.

The BLS data for November showed the Latino labor force participation rate at 66.5 percent, a slight increase of 0.2 percent from October. The BLS revealed that slightly more than 24 million Latinos are employed, which represents individuals over the age of 16 years old, but may include people temporarily absent from their jobs.

Meanwhile, 1.7 million Latinos are unemployed, which NCLR defined as "those who are available to work, make an effort to find a job, or expect to be called back from a layoff but are not working."

Overall, 25.8 million Latinos were identified to be in the civilian labor force, which is the total figure for employed and unemployed people.

Although not seasonally adjusted, the BLS disclosed more Latino males are employed than Latinas. Among men over the age of 20 years old, 13.5 million Latino males are employed and have an unemployment rate of 5.8 percent. Latinas, however, have a higher unemployment rate at 6.4 percent. Despite the higher unemployment rate, the figure is down from October's 7 percent while the rate for men is an increase from October's 5.1 percent. The labor report disclosed 9.6 million Latinas are employed, which is an increase from November 2013's 9.2 million.

The overall Latino unemployment rate among 16-to-19-year-olds declined from October and in comparison to November 2013. For November 2014, the unemployment rate for 16-to-19-year-olds is 16.3 percent with 928,000 employed. In October, the unemployment rate was 20.2 percent and 23.9 percent in November 2013.

According to NCLR, President Barack Obama's immigration executive actions could have an impact on Latinos in the workplace. The Monthly Latino Employment Report by NCLR stated U.S.-born workers will "undoubtedly" benefit from the executive actions including higher wages and higher productivity since eligible undocumented immigrants may apply for work authorization permits. Tax contributions are also expected to increase by $2.87 billion during the first year of the executive actions and $21.24 billion within five years. Despite the gains, NCLR noted comprehensive immigration reform by Congress remains the solution to creating opportunities for undocumented workers.

"The news is good across the board," said Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez about the overall U.S. unemployment rate. "Growth has been strong in middle and high-wage industries over the last two years, and November saw particularly strong growth in professional and business services jobs. Auto sales are surging. Consumer confidence continues to grow. Americans are bullish about our economic future. By nearly every measure, we are in better shape than when President Obama took office nearly six years ago."

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