Black Americans have made up nearly 90% of adults newly unemployed since April, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The federal agency reported last week that 267,000 of 300,000 workers who lost their jobs in recent months were Black, reversing a trend generally moving in the other direction during the past two years.
In a statement emailed Thursday to The Washington Times, the Bureau of Labor Statistics division of labor force statistics said it was too early to draw any conclusions from the data.
“While the unemployment rate for Blacks appears to have ticked up in the past few months, data for additional months are needed to determine if this is part of a longer-term trend,” the statement said. “As always, we’ll be looking closely at labor market performance in the coming months to determine if there are changes in trends, both overall and for major demographic groups, such as Blacks.”
Some labor market analysts reached for comment said the report confirms that widespread layoffs in the technology and service industries have hit Blacks harder than other workers this year.
There has been a “George Floyd effect” of corporations quietly purging affirmative action hires made in response to social justice protests, said Eugene Dilan, a California-based business consultant specializing in equity, inclusion and diversity.
He said Floyd’s 2020 death in Minneapolis police custody led to corporate commitments to implement affirmative action policies. Those hiring commitments have rapidly evaporated with fears of a looming recession.
“While millions of Black Americans were hired, the efforts often stopped there,” Mr. Dilan said in an email. “There was a failure to create a welcoming environment or allocate resources for the in-depth work required to bring about systemic change. Consequently, when the economy became unstable, these individuals were seen as expendable, resulting in them being the first to lose their jobs.”
Big Tech companies have terminated positions responsible for ensuring racially diverse workforces.
Apple, Google and Facebook parent company Meta have laid off tens of thousands of workers this year.
Tech layoffs have fueled a 33% turnover rate for equity, inclusion and diversity employees compared with 21% for other workers, a study from Revelio Labs found this year.
Microsoft announced last week that it would cut 276 employees in its home state of Washington, adding to 10,000 layoffs announced in January.
According to the federal report, Blacks faced a 6% unemployment rate in June, about twice that of the 3.1% rate for Whites. Blacks traditionally have had double the unemployment rate of Whites in Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.6% last month for Hispanics. The Asian American rate was 3.2%.
The unemployment rate hit 3.6% nationally last month — about the same rate as before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns in early 2020.
The Black unemployment rate fell from 5.7% in February to a record low of 4.7% in April. It has since risen slightly above the 5.9% mark in June 2022.
“The so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies are just more woke virtue signaling that have done little to actually help communities of color gain traction in the labor market,” said Andrew Crapuchettes, CEO of Idaho-based recruitment agency RedBalloon, summarizing the numbers.
The Black-White unemployment gap has shown little significant change since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking the overall trend in 1972.
The latest numbers suggest that Black unemployment has returned to its historical struggles after briefly appearing to be closing the gap, some economists say.
“More Americans are leaving the labor force, but Black Americans have a 64% higher exit rate,” said Michael Austin, a former economic adviser to two Kansas governors and a member of Project 21, a network of Black conservatives. “We might be heading toward a slower economy, and the effects on African Americans could be a telling sign of things to come.”
April marked the smallest gap between Black and White unemployment on record and the lowest national unemployment rate — 3.4% — since 1969.
Meanwhile, inflation has slowed. Prices rose at an annual rate of 3.8% in May, about the same as in early 2021.
Reports suggest those improvements have not helped Blacks in the labor market.
A Gallup and Amazon study published Wednesday said Black adults are 33% underrepresented in top-rated careers, measured by the proportion to those in the general workforce. Hispanic adults are 43% underrepresented.
Black and Hispanic Americans have seen no easing of racism, poor job advancement prospects, unsafe neighborhoods with rising crime rates and limited access to “quality education,” Mr. Dilan said.
“In order to survive, many have decided to start their own businesses and many have resorted to the gig economy, taking positions with Uber and similar roles that lack benefits and opportunities for advancement,” he said. “Black and Brown people have also historically supported each other, but it’s important to note that our communities are currently facing difficulties from various angles.”
Black Americans historically have made up most workers in low-wage jobs, employment analysts say.
With illegal immigration on the rise, Black adults are competing with undocumented workers for low-wage jobs in a cooling labor market, said Eric Ruark, director of research at NumbersUSA, a Virginia-based advocacy group favoring restrictions on legal and illegal immigration.
“Black Americans are more likely to be in occupations where they compete with illegal immigrants,” Mr. Ruark said in an email.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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