Black Unemployment

We often heard over the past three years the statement that “Black unemployment is at its lowest level in history.” The graph below illustrates three important findings:

1. The unemployment curve over time varies little by race or even age. If unemployment is down for Whites it is also down for Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics.
2. Blacks have consistently and still do today have higher unemployment rates across the last 20 years when compared against all other measured races in the US. They may have faired slightly better than Hispanics during the past two quarters due to the COVID-19 impact on the service industry, but other than that they have continued to have the highest unemployment rates by race. One race not reviewed on the following chart is the Native Americans who historically have a very high unemployment rate.
3. Unemployment for Blacks in 2017-2019 is slightly better than in 2000. The unemployment rates during the 2008 recession were high for all measured groups and all proceeded to improve from 2010 through 2019.