The unemployment rate for black women in America appears to be on the rise.
The unemployment rate among Americans is declining, while among black women it is rising.
CNBC recently reported that the unemployment rate for U.S. black women aged 20 and over “rose to 6.1% in February from 5.8% the previous month,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, unemployment in the country “fell to 3.8% last month from 4% in January.”
A fast food restaurant in Los Angeles has a sign that reads “Employed.” The unemployment rate for black women in America appears to be on the rise. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The unemployment rate has dropped for many demographics, including black men. However, according to the latest BLS data, black American women were the only race and gender left behind.
The black male unemployment rate dropped from 7.1% in January to 6.4% last month, the best improvement across the board.
“Overall, this is a really positive report, but there are still some troubling signs,” Michelle Holder, a John Jay College economist and president of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, told CNBC.
Nearly a third of all black women in the US workforce work in health and social services, which has been hit hard by COVID-19, according to the report. As a result, the pandemic has pushed women into the background, economists told CNBC.
TheGrio White House Correspondent April Ryan reported in February that the unemployment rate among black Americans had fallen. However, black America continues to struggle, as the number of unemployed in it is still more than twice as high as in white America. Today, the black unemployment rate is still higher than the national average of 4 percent. Black jobless claims were 6.9% in January, up from 7.1% in December 2021.
Ryan reports that since 1972, the black unemployment rate has always been higher than in mainstream America. However, according to Eliza Gould, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, “The unemployment rate for whites is now lower than the unemployment rate for blacks has ever been.”
The discrepancy is attributed to “an uneven recovery in the labor market during the pandemic,” according to CNBC.
Nicole Mason, president and CEO of the Women’s Policy Research Institute, told CNBC: “We need to pay attention to this so we don’t leave people in recovery and turn away from the work that still needs to be done to make sure that everyone can recover, especially those who have been disproportionately affected by the loss of their jobs and income during the pandemic.”
This article contains an additional report by April Ryan.
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