The recently released unemployment figures continue to indicate that the job situation in America is not improving. They show that private sector hiring by businesses is slowing down and a decrease in the number of government jobs along with teachers and policemen.
Government agencies cut 159,000 jobs, many of them federal census workers and state and local employees. The new report also showed that the private sector only added 64,000 jobs last month compared to 93,000 and 117,000 in August and July respectively. But what is often overlooked is how and what the reports mean for African Americans and how they will impact lives of millions.
Although the nation’s unemployment rate hovers around 9.6 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for African Americans is close to twice the national average. The unemployment rate for African Americans was reported as 16.1 percent, a figure that reflects chronic unemployment. The numbers are even worse for African American teens, which are reportedly ranging between 40 to 50 percent. There are also reports that it is even difficult for recent African American college graduates to find employment, since with so many seeking work they end up competing with more experienced, white workers who have been laid off.
And the employment situation will not be improving anytime soon. Not to mention that all the current administration and Republicans within the beltway, have to offer is a steady stream of finger pointing and blame. As a consequence, while we see one-year change in unemployment reduce slightly for whites, Latino and Asians, it continues to increase incrementally for African Americans. There is also the observation that the figures that are reported do not tell the entire picture, they do not include the undocumented unemployed or those individuals who are working part time, but desire and want full-time work. So the picture presented in the media is bad, but it is even worse for African Americans since the 16 percent unemployment rate is really closer to 40 percent if you include college students, military personnel and homeless populations. –torrance stephens, ph.d.
