Gap in U.S. Black and white unemployment rates is widest in five years
Reuters
Published Jul 02, 2020 10:36AM ET
(Reuters) - The gap between the U.S. unemployment rates for Blacks and whites widened further in June, to its largest in five years.
Jobless rates for both fell in June, but the rate for whites came down at a much faster rate. The white unemployment rate fell by 2.3 percentage points to 10.1% from 12.4%, while the rate for Blacks dropped by 1.4 points to 15.4% from 16.8%.
At 5.3 percentage points, the gap is now the widest since May 2015.
(Graphic: Black vs white unemployment, https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/jznpnzjqxpl/Pasted%20image%201593694194843.png)
The pandemic brought an abrupt end to the record-long U.S. economic expansion just as it was creating better job opportunities for Black workers and other minorities. And the job losses seen during the downturn have fallen hardest on Black workers, Hispanic workers and women, wiping out some of their recent wins.
The widening spread between racial group jobless rates in the last two months has reversed years of gains toward slowly bringing unemployment rates between Blacks and whites closer to parity.
Last August, the unemployment rate for Black workers dropped to a record low of 5.4% and the gap between Black and white workers narrowed to 2 points, the narrowest since the Labor Department retooled its measurement of employment by race in 1972.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.