Black Male Workforce Rises to Largest Ever Amid U.S. Recovery

The labor force for adult Black men rose to a record in June in a sign that U.S. workers may be trying to take advantage of a fast recovery and higher wages being touted by some companies.

Black men over 20 still have the highest unemployment rate of all the race and gender groups tracked by the Department of Labor, at 10%, as employment climbed at a slower pace than labor-force growth.

But the gap between Black and White labor-force participation shrank to its lowest level ever.

Black and Latina women also returned to the workforce at a ...