The unemployment rate of African-Americans has increased in March while the unemployment rate as a whole has dropped to its lowest point in two years, according to an April report by the Federal Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS.)
Overall unemployment fell to 8.8 percent in March. The economy added approximately 216,000
jobs, the Labor Department announced Friday. This indicates a recovering economy, though African-
Americans are not feeling this improvement to the same extent as other demographics. The African
American unemployment rate has increased from 15.3 to 15.5 in March, according to the BLS.
African Americans, especially African-American men, are the least affected by these advances. African
American men have a 16.8 percent unemployment rate; almost double their white male equivalents,
which have an unemployment rate of 7.7 percent, according to the BLS.
“I think the main problem is we don’t have enough of young African-Americans going on to higher
education. It has been a long term problem that needs to truly be addressed,” said 35-year-old College
Park resident Stephen Williams.
The relationship between education and higher paying jobs is shared for every race, but it is particularly
true in the African-American demographic. In 2008, the high school dropout rate for African-Americans
was 9.9%, almost double that of whites, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
College entry rates are also lower for African-Americans.
“We (National Urban League) have always said that education is the key to job performance and
upper mobility. It is the key to getting out of the bad situation and raising ones standard of living,” said
Maudine R. Cooper, President and CEO of the Greater Washington National Urban League.
The numbers for unemployed teenagers, which usually show high unemployment, are even more
striking for African American teenagers. Their unemployment rate is near 50 percent, more than double
the national average of 21 percent, according to the latest US Labor Department figures.
“There are so many unemployed people right now that employers can have their pick. They can hire
people who have degrees and they can hire people who look like them because of their comfort level.
It’s really kind of simple. Employers need to change their outlook and not hire overqualified individuals
into entry level jobs,” said Cooper.
The National Urban League, (NUL,) a non-partisan civil rights organization, will be offering a set of
proposals to members of Congress in the coming months which include providing funding for a summer
youth jobs program and creating 100 urban job training schools. They also are encouraging more African
American’s to train for jobs in information and communication technology, one of the least pursued
career paths for minorities.