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Monthly, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a table with the (un)employment numbers by race, sex, and age, plus a news release with further breakdown of the numbers:

BLS Employment Status

BLS Employment News Release

See the UC Berkeley Labor Center's monthly data brief on Black Employment and Unemployment.

Read a statement on the January Employment Report by the Chief Economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Additional articles:

Annual Report: Black Employment and Unemployment in 2011 >>

Race and Male Employment in the Wake of the Great Recession (2010) >>

Two new issue briefs from EPI

High Black Unemployment Widespread Across Nation's Metropolitan Areas (2011) >>

Hispanic Unemployment Highest in Northeast Metropolitan Areas (2011) >>

HAVE QUESTIONS? NEED MORE INFORMATION? | Contact us!

Featured Issues >> Employment Statistics

Employment is the primary source of income for most Americans, and employment income has always played a significant role in the economic well-being of low-income families as well.

Like other indicators of social and economic well-being, stark differences in employment and unemployment rates exist along lines of race and gender. African Americans have historically and continue to experience much higher rates of unemployment and lower rates of employment than their white counterparts, a fact that can be easily obscured by the overall numbers.

Each month, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the previous month’s employment and unemployment numbers, CFFPP posts the overall rates and highlights the rates for African American men, women, and teenagers.

Unemployment Rates

The unemployment rate reflects the percentage of Americans without work who actively sought employment in the previous month. People who have been discouraged from searching or who work part-time but would prefer to work full-time are not included.

January 2012 Total unemployment rate: 8.3% (versus 8.5% in December)
	White Americans	African Americans
Overall unemployment	7.4	13.6
Men - unemployment	6.9	12.7
Women -unemployment	6.8	12.6
16-19 year olds	21.1	38.5

Numbers of note:

• The unemployment rate for African Americans saw an encouraging decline in January 2012. At the same time, white Americans’ unemployment rates are 54 percent (or almost half) the unemployment experienced by black Americans.

• The January 2012 CBPP Chief Economist’s report highlights the ongoing concern for long-term unemployment. Currently, 42.9 percent of Americans who are officially “unemployed” have been jobless for 27 weeks or more.

Employment Rates

The employment rate is the percentage of the civilian labor force that is employed.

January 2012 Total employment-population ratio: 58.5%
	White Americans	African Americans
Overall employment	59.4	52.9
Men - employment	68.7	59.7
Women - employment	54.9	54.2
16-19 year olds	28.8	15.2

Numbers of note:

• White men continue to be employed at a rate nearly 10 points higher than African American men.

• Men are employed at higher rates than women, and the difference between these rates is much narrower for black adults.