Just like we have to work twice as hard, our unemployment rates are typically twice as bad compared to whites.
So, as the economy gains steam and rates of unemployment fall for everyone else, the situation for us is dire - the rate of Black unemployment overall is 6.8%. But the situation is worse for Black men.
In fact, the rise in Black unemployment is largely driven by Black men’s rate of 7%, since Black women’s unemployment declined to 5.3%. These numbers are high, especially compared to the overall US employment rate of 3.6%!
There are many reasons why this is so: the devastating effects of mass incarceration on Black men’s employment, negative stereotyping, discrimination, as well as the fact that Black men have usually occupied blue collar jobs, which have been in decline.
We are in an uphill battle when it comes to employment. Having leaders who aren’t taking workplace civil rights seriously and a president who neglects the Employment Opportunity Commission indicates that we need to figure out a different solution.