US Black unemployment rate dropped in July

It should have been a number to celebrate: The US Black unemployment rate fell a full percentage point to 8.2 per cent in July - the biggest drop of any major racial or demographic group. But a look behind the numbers reveals a distressing reality.

Nearly 250,000 African Americans left the workforce and the total number employed fell by 12,000 - a measure that rose solidly for whites, Hispanics and Asians.

The numbers indicate the drop in the Black unemployment rate was driven not by more people finding jobs, but by a rise in the number of people setting their job searches aside.

“We still have work to do,” US Labour Secretary Marty Walsh told Reuters on Friday. “I mean, we can’t completely celebrate this day.”

The share of Black people either working or looking for work, known as the labour force participation rate, also fell 0.8 point last month to 60.8 per cent. That was a reversal of the gain in June, when the labour force participation rate for Black workers rose and exceeded that of white workers for the second time in history. White workers once again have the advantage, with a labour force participation rate of 61.6 per cent.

Employment numbers fluctuate from month to month, and economists say it’s important to focus on longer-term trends. But a look back during the coronavirus pandemic shows that Black workers still have more ground to recover to return to their pre-pandemic employment levels than white workers.

The unemployment rate for Black women, at 7.6 per cent, is still 2.7 points above where it was in February 2020. The 8.4 per cent jobless rate for Black men is 2.4 points above pre-crisis levels.