Unemployment rate among black Americans falls below 10% for first time since recession
The unemployment rate among African Americans is at its lowest point for seven years—but is still significantly higher than the rate among white Americans, according to figures released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Analysis by the EPI’s Valerie Wilson shows that in the second quarter of 2015, the unemployment rate among black people in the US stood at 9.5%. This is the first time since 2007 it has been under 10%. However, it is still more than double the unemployment rate of white people, which currently stands at 4.6%.
Among other ethnic groups in the US, the unemployment rate among Hispanic people is now 6.6%, while Asian Americans have the lowest unemployment rate at just 3.8%.
The EPI also reports considerable variation in unemployment figures across different states of the US. Unemployment is highest in West Virginia (7.4%) and lowest in Nebraska (2.6%). Specifically among African Americans, unemployment is highest in the District of Colombia (14.2%) and lowest in Tennessee, where it stands at 6.9%—which is, Wilson points out, about the same as the highest rate among whites.
Overall, average unemployment across the US now stands at 5.3%, a drop of 0.2 percentage points since the end of the first quarter of the year.
Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Anna Louie Sussman argues that the gap between black and white unemployment rates is likely to be partly due to racial discrimination by employers, citing research that finds black job applicants are less likely to be given interviews or be hired compared to white and Hispanic applicants with the same credentials.
Ulf Rinne has written for IZA World of Labor about the use of anonymous job applications to reduce discrimination in the hiring process. He writes that: “Anonymous job applications have the potential to remove or reduce some discriminatory hiring barriers facing applicants from minority and other disadvantaged groups. When implemented effectively, anonymous job applications level the playing field in access to jobs by shifting the focus toward skills and qualifications. Anonymous job applications should not, however, be regarded as a universal remedy that is applicable in any context or that can prevent any form of discrimination.”
Read more on this story at the Wall Street Journal. The Economic Policy Institute report can be found here.
Related articles:
Anonymous job applications and hiring discrimination by Ulf Rinne
Slavery, racial inequality and education by Graziella Bertocchi