Overall Unemployment: 5.0% (5.0%)
African America Unemployment: 8.8% (9.0%)
Latino America Unemployment: 6.1% (5.6%)
European America Unemployment: 4.3% (4.3%)
Asian America Unemployment: 3.8% (4.0%)
Previous month in parentheses.
Analysis: Overall unemployment rose slightly in the month of April from the previous month. African and Asian American both saw 20 basis point declines. European America was the only group to go unchanged. Lastly, Latino America has an uptick of 50 basis points in their unemployment rate.
African American Male Unemployment: 9.5% (8.7%)
African American Female Unemployment: 6.9% (8.0%)
African American Teenage Unemployment: 26.0% (25.3%)
African American Male Participation: 68.1% (67.2%)
African American Female Participation: 60.2% (61.5%)
African American Teenage Participation: 29.2% (30.5%)
Previous month in parentheses.
Analysis:African American males had a 80 basis point increase in their unemployment rate and a 90 basis point increase in their participation rate. African American females had a 110 basis point decrease in their unemployment rate and a 130 basis point decrease in their participation rate. African American teenagers unemployment rate increased 70 basis points and participation rate experienced a decrease of 130 basis points.
CONCLUSION: The overall economy added 160 000 jobs in April. African America lost 59 000 jobs in April, the second consecutive decrease in the past five months. The African American labor force also pulled back with a decline of almost 100 000 for a second consecutive month. Nervously, the participation rate is at its lowest over the past five months remains with a very sharp decline of 40 basis points. A divergence from a rate that has been fairly steady as it goes the past five months. There are signs that fresh economic thunderstorms are settling in over the African American economy. The Federal Reserve continues to suppress interest rates, which while keeping the stock market humming along (barely) is also keeping lending tight. The latter being a situation that prevents many of America’s small businesses from hiring and even more potential businesses from even getting off of the ground. If banks can not make enough money off making a loan to a risky small business just opening its doors, then better to park the cash in Treasuries and wait out the interest rate conundrum. Meanwhile, the American economy continues to die a paper cut death. African America’s economy just lost another bank making lending for small businesses and therefore job creation within the community an even higher hurdle to climb, as if jumping over Mount Olympus with a broken leg was not hard enough. Maybe the winds will change, but until the Federal Reserve decides to take the economy off of the low interest rate medicine, then there is very little hope of the economy breaking out into a real sprint. Currently, the downside looks a lot more probable than the upside.
African American needs an increase of 742 000 jobs to match the country’s unemployment rate – a decrease of 37 000 jobs from the previous month.
HBCU Money 