Tag Archives: unemployment

African America’s May Unemployment Report – 13.5%

Posted on June 10, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Overall Unemployment: 7.6% (7.5%)

African America Unemployment: 13.5% (13.2%)

Latino America Unemployment: 9.1% (9.0%)

European America Unemployment: 6.7% (6.7%)

Asian America Unemployment: 4.3% (5.1%)

Analysis: Overall unemployment saw a rise primarily due to a rise in the number of people entering the labor force. African America saw the largest rise in unemployment rate among all groups. Latino and European America experienced virtually no change. Asian America was the only group with a significant drop in its unemployment rate. African America remains the only group with double digit unemployment.

African American Male Unemployment: 13.5% (12.6%)

African American Female Unemployment: 11.2% (11.6%)

African American Teenage Unemployment: 42.6% (40.5%)

African American Male Participation: 67.9% (67.4%)

African American Female Participation: 62.5% (62.3%)

African American Teenage Participation: 28.0% (27.5%)

*Previous month in parentheses.

Analysis: African American male unemployment saw a sharp uptick. African American women saw another healthy decline in their unemployment rate. The teenage group continues to see significant rises in unemployment. All three groups saw a rise in their participation rates suggesting more African Americans looking for work in the month of May.

Conclusion: The overall economy added 175 000 in the month of May. African America after adding 100 000 jobs last month in April only added an estimated 35 000 jobs in May. There just does not seem to be much to enjoy right now if you are African America still trying to recover from over 5 years ago now. Job growth in the private sector for African America is moving at a snail pace if it is moving at all. The continued crisis that is African American teenage unemployment continues unabated. Civilian labor force (those looking for work) has picked up for a second straight month but it is fairly apparent there are not many places for them to go. African American men have lost 70 000 jobs over the past two months. Thankfully, African American women have netted 260 000 jobs over that same two month stretch. Given the latter group is more vital to African American households economically speaking they are once again carrying the majority of the household burden. African American teenagers have lost 60 000 jobs over the past two months as well. It appears while more African Americans are looking for jobs it might be more a result of the continuing job loss for African America not job gains that is spurring them to do so.

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African America’s March Unemployment Report -13.3%

Posted on April 8, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Overall Unemployment: 7.6% (7.7%)

African America Unemployment: 13.3% (13.8%)

Latino America Unemployment: 9.2% (9.6%)

European America Unemployment: 6.7% (6.8%)

Asian America Unemployment: 5.0% (6.1%)

Analysis: Overall unemployment rate is down. Every group saw a decline in their unemployment rate led by Asian America who saw the largest decline. African America continues to be the only group with double digit unemployment. The American participation rate is the lowest since 1979.

African American Male Unemployment: 12.7% (12.9%)

African American Female Unemployment: 12.2% (12.5%)

African American Teenage Unemployment: 33.8% (43.1%)

African American Male Participation: 68.1% (68.2%)

African American Female Participation: 61.3% (62.2%)

African American Teenage Participation: 27.6% (27.4%)

*Previous month in parentheses.

Analysis: All groups saw declines in their unemployment rates. The African American teenage group led the way with one of the most significant drops in recent memory in its unemployment rate. Participation rates saw drops for both men and women while the teenagers saw a slight uptick. African American women saw a significant drop in their participation rate.

Conclusion: America overall added only 88 000 jobs in the month of March, the lowest job creation since June of 2012. African America netted 9 000 new jobs or 10.2 percent of new jobs. African American men and teenagers netted 18 000 and 68 000 new jobs, respectively. Unfortunately, African American women experienced a loss of 76 000 jobs. The women’s loss is by far the most problematic for African American household financial stability since they head the majority of African American households. The increase in teenage unemployment while serving as a hedge in households also means African American households are bringing in dramatically less as teenagers are almost always working low wage jobs. As the federal sequester continues to take hold we should continue to expect abysmal employment numbers. African America’s continued public employment dependence will continue to be highlighted as long as the federal log jam in Washington D.C. continues and agencies have to make cuts and furloughs. The most damaging number reported is the decrease in the African American labor force which dropped by 115 000 and served as the primary driver in the decreased unemployment rate. After four months of increased African American labor force this could be an early sign that employment search fatigue could be setting in.

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African America’s December Unemployment Report – 14.0%

Posted on January 8, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Overall Unemployment: 7.8% (7.7%)

African America Unemployment: 14.0% (13.2%)

Latino America Unemployment: 9.6% (9.9%)

European America Unemployment: 6.9% (6.8%)

Asian America Unemployment: 6.6% (6.4%)

Analysis: Unemployment rates rose across the board for all groups. Asian America maintains the lowest rate. African America showed the largest increase of all groups.

African American Male Unemployment: 14.0% (12.9%)

African American Female Unemployment: 12.2% (11.5%)

African American Teenage Unemployment: 40.5% (39.3%)

African American Male Participation: 67.4% (66.9%)

African American Female Participation: 62.2% (62.3%)

African American Teenage Participation: 25.1% (27.0%)

*Previous month in parentheses.

Analysis: African America saw substantial rises in all groups for unemployment rate. Overall African America added 29 000 jobs. African American male’s saw the largest rise in unemployment rate among all three groups. African America male’s were also the only group to see a rise in their participation rate which is a positive sign as they added 73 000 jobs. African American females participation rate remained stagnant but were able to add 10 000 jobs. Unfortunately, African American teenagers saw their unemployment rate rise and their participation rate fall as they shed 53 000 jobs. African American teenagers continue to be a crisis area for African America largely unnoticed.

Conclusion: African America made up 18.7 percent of the new jobs in December. A percentage well above the population’s percentage but still too few jobs to gain any economic ground amongst the other groups. While the African American male gain is promising, teenage employment loss is extremely troubling given the dependency on African American teenage income for families. African American teenagers continue to have the third highest unemployment rate in the developed world. The gains among African American males is a positive but should be taken with some reservation since most are occurring in low wage jobs. Underemployment continues to plague African America into the new year. As seasonal jobs are shed over the next month we could see the unemployment situation worsen for African America.

Source: Department of Labor

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Why Not Africa? A Land Of Opportunity For African Americans

Posted on December 18, 2012 by | Leave a comment

By Cordie Aziz

Africa, for the longest time, was thought of as a place where savages and wild beasts roamed endless plains and jungles. However, as time has advanced so has Africa and its image. Now boasting some of the fastest growing economies in the world, countries like Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya are outpacing many developed countries. Other African countries, like Ghana, are now considered middle class countries, illustrating to the world that many African countries are ready to start competing intenationally.

So in the midst of all of this development and economic growth you have to ask yourself why aren’t more African- Americans following the trends of investing in Africa. Is it lack of knowledge of the opportunities, is it the fear of moving into an unknown continent or is it just lack of interest?

If you had a chance to read the job analysis featured on HBCU Money last week, you saw that overall blacks are still losing jobs in the American economy. They, in fact, still boast the highest unemployment rate of all the races, despite their educational level. So, at what point, will African Americans decide to do something different? What will it take for African Americans to not only see the potential in Mother Africa, but to help actualize it as well?

From cell phone apps to grocery and dry cleaning services, every part of the African market is expanding. Each day new opportunities are created and all the market needs is the right person to fill the gap. So why continue to waste your time fighting for crumbs and you can have a whole pie?

If you are young and have a few thousand dollars accessible to you, I would strongly recommend looking into investing overseas. Yes, you will have to do your research and find the right opportunity for you. But once you do, it will be a decision that you will never regret.

So now that you have some basic information, tell me what is stopping you from looking at investments in Africa?

Cordie Aziz, is a former Congressional staffer who moved to Ghana after losing her job in 2011. She currently is the owner of a cell phone rental company in Ghana and has the blog brokEntrepreneur.wordpress.com

Follow her on twitter @brokenEntrepren

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African America’s November Unemployment Report – 13.2%

Posted on December 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Overall Unemployment: 7.7% (7.9%)

African America Unemployment: 13.2% (14.3%)

Latino America Unemployment: 10.0% (10.0%)

European America Unemployment: 6.8% (7.0%)

Asian America Unemployment: 6.4% (4.9%)

Analysis: Overall unemployment sees a drop with African America having the most significant drop. Latino America remains unchanged and European America sees a slight drop. Asian America is the only group that has a rise in its unemployment rate but remains the lowest of all groups.

African American Male Unemployment: 13.0% (14.1%)

African American Female Unemployment: 11.4% (12.4%)

African American Teenage Unemployment: 39.4% (40.5%)

African American Male Participation: 67.1% (67.7%)

African American Female Participation: 62.4% (63.9%)

African American Teenage Participation: 27.3% (29.0%)

*Previous month in parentheses.

Analysis: All African American groups see significant drops in unemployment rate and participation rate. The civilian labor force for African America dropped by 300 000 as many stopped looking for work. African American women were the most significant representation of those who stopped looking for work comprising approximately 200 000 or 66 percent of those who left the labor force. Approximately 16 million African Americans were employed last month and the change though downward is negligible. African American men picked up some jobs (44 000) but women and teenagers both saw declines of 80 000 and 19 000 respectively.

Conclusion: The overall economy added 146 000 jobs while African America loss 55 000 jobs. The African American economy continues to drudge along and is exhibiting signs it could be slipping deeper into recession. Hurricane Sandy was said not to have had a major impact on the overall economy but New York City is African America’s largest population center in terms of sheer numbers constituting 5 percent of African America’s total population so it is hard to imagine it not having an impact. The significant drop in African American women out of the labor force is alarming. Given the number of women-headed households being a significant presence in African America, a sign that African American women are discouraged from the job market does not bold well for African American families or the overall health of the African American economy. The loss in jobs is especially troubling because November is usually a time of seasonal hiring for the holidays. Jobs which usually are retail oriented and low wage but vital for families needing the additional income. An inability to increase jobs at this time of year shows an Africa America with a dire situation heading into 2013 as it will have to try to make up for those lost wages. The possibility of shadow market labor that goes unreported in employment numbers could hedge the problem but unlikely to completely stem the tide. Right now if there is good news in the African American economy it is hard to find and with looming political uncertainty around entitlement programs it appears African America could be facing a looming squeeze coupled with declining jobs will extremely hard to prepare for.

Source: Department of Labor

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