Years of
steady
hiring
and
economic
growth
have
delivered
a
cumulative
benefit
for at
least
one
group
that
hasn’t
always
shared
in
America’s
prosperity.
African-American
unemployment
hit
record
low in
December
By
CHRISTOPHER
RUGABER
WASHINGTON
-
Years of
steady
hiring
and
economic
growth
have
delivered
a
cumulative
benefit
for at
least
one
group
that
hasn’t
always
shared
in
America’s
prosperity.
The
unemployment
rate for
African-Americans
fell to
6.8
percent
in
December,
the
lowest
level
since
the
government
began
tracking
such
data in
1972.
The
reasons
range
from a
greater
number
of black
Americans
with
college
degrees
to a
growing
need for
employers
in a
tight
job
market
to widen
the pool
of
people
they
hire
from.
“The
African
American
unemployment
rate
fell to
6.8
percent,
the
lowest
rate in
45
years. I
am so
happy
about
this
News!”
President
Donald
Trump
said in
a tweet
Saturday.
Still,
the rate
for
black
workers
remains
well
above
those
for
whites
and some
other
groups,
something
experts
attribute
in large
part to
decades
of
discrimination
and
disadvantages.
Robust
job
creation
has
lowered
unemployment
for all
Americans.
U.S.
employers
added
nearly
2.1
million
jobs in
2017 —
the
seventh
straight
year
that
hiring
has
topped 2
million.
The U.S.
economy
gained a
hefty
5.7
million
jobs in
2014 and
2015
alone.
But
there
are also
less-happy
reasons
for the
lower
unemployment
rates:
Fewer
Americans
are
either
working
or
looking
for
work.
(People
who
aren’t
actively
seeking
a job
aren’t
counted
as
unemployed.)
An aging
population
means
there
are more
retirees.
Young
Americans
are also
staying
in
school
longer
before
job-hunting.
And
some
people,
perhaps
discouraged
about
their
prospects,
have
given up
looking
for work
and so
aren’t
included
in the
unemployment
rate.
Here
are some
questions
and
answers
about
African-Americans’
record-low
unemployment
rate:
___
Q.
GIVEN
THE
RECORD-LOW
UNEMPLOYMENT
RATES,
IS THIS
THE BEST
JOB
MARKET
EVER FOR
BLACKS?
A.
Not
necessarily.
As with
nearly
all
demographic
groups,
a
smaller
proportion
of
blacks
have
jobs now
than
before
the
Great
Recession,
in part
because
of
retirements,
more
people
staying
in
school
and
discouraged
would-be
workers.
The
best job
market
for
African-Americans
might
actually
have
been in
2000,
when
61.4
percent
of black
adults
were
employed,
the
highest
proportion
ever.
That
figure
fell
below 52
percent
in the
depths
of the
recession,
and is
now 57.9
percent.
The
same
pattern
occurred
for
other
groups.
Two-thirds
of
Latinos
were
employed
in 2000;
now,
only
62.5
percent
are.
About 65
percent
of
whites
were
working
in 2000,
far
higher
than the
current
60.4
percent.
(The
data for
Asians
goes
back
only to
2003.)
___
Q.
Why is
the
African-American
unemployment
rate
higher
than the
rate for
whites?
A.
The main
reason
is
discrimination,
according
to most
research.
Valerie
Wilson,
director
of the
Economic
Policy
Institute’s
program
on race,
ethnicity
and the
economy,
notes
that
even
when
African-Americans
have
similar
levels
of
education
or
experience,
their
chances
of being
unemployed
are
higher.
“That’s
what
begs the
question
of what
else
could be
the
major
reason,”
Wilson
said.
Nancy
DiTomaso,
a
business
professor
at
Rutgers
University,
says her
research
has
found
that
whites
likely
benefit
from
networks
of
family
and
friends
that
don’t
intentionally
exclude
blacks
or other
minorities.
Yet,
nevertheless,
their
networks
have the
effect
of
helping
whites
get jobs
more
readily
than
blacks.
___
Q.
What
about
other
ethnic
and
racial
groups?
A.
Everyone
is
benefiting
from the
healthy
job
market.
The
unemployment
rate for
Latinos
was 4.9
percent
in
December,
just
above
the
record
low of
4.8
percent
reached
in June.
And
the
jobless
rate for
Asians
was 2.5
percent
in
December,
just
above
the
record
low of
2.4
percent
set in
2006.
___
Q.
What
factors
have
helped
lower
unemployment
for
African-Americans?
A.
One
major
reason,
Wilson
says, is
that
many
more
black
Americans
are
college
graduates
than in
the
past.
That
doesn’t
completely
offset
the
effects
of
discrimination.
But
among
all
groups,
college
graduates
have
lower
unemployment
rates
than
those
with
less
education.
Another
driver
is
economic:
When the
national
unemployment
rate
falls to
ultra-low
levels,
employers
typically
cast
wider
nets to
find the
workers
they
need. As
they do
so, they
typically
start
pulling
in more
people
from
historically
disadvantaged
groups.
These
include
job-seekers
with
less
education
as well
as
racial
minorities.
With
the
current
U.S.
unemployment
rate at
a
17-year
low of
4.1
percent,
that
appears
to be
what’s
happening.
Some
economists
want the
Federal
Reserve
to hold
off on
raising
the
short-term
interest
rate it
controls
for
exactly
this
reason:
Raising
that
rate
could
slow
growth
just as
the
benefits
of the
economy’s
expansion
are
spreading
to
disadvantaged
groups.
___
Q.
Where
might
the
unemployment
rate for
African-Americans
go from
here?
A.
It
depends
on the
economy.
Most
economists
expect
healthy
growth
this
year,
fueled
in part
by the
Trump
administration’s
tax cuts
for
individuals
and
companies.
That
should
lower
unemployment
for all
Americans.
The
African-American
unemployment
rate is
highly
volatile
and
could
rise or
fall
noticeably
in the
months
ahead.
It’s
down
from 7.9
percent
a year
ago.
Typically,
the
African-American
unemployment
rate is
about
twice
the rate
for
whites
and is
more
volatile.
Wilson
calculates
that for
each
percentage-point
change
in the
rate for
whites,
up or
down,
the rate
for
African-Americans
will
swing by
about
1.6
points.