Black Women See Steepest Decline in Unemployment during May

Black Women See Steepest Decline in Unemployment during May
By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 8th 2010 5:15PM

African American women may have some reason to celebrate during the month of June. Comparing whites and blacks across genders, black women saw their unemployment rate decline the most among all groups, dropping by nearly 10 percent (1.3 percentage points). The unemployment rate for the month of April (released in early May), was 13.7 percent, and the unemployment rate for the month of May (released this week) is 12.4 percent. The data was obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unemployment gap between black and white women also took a nosedive this month. While black women saw their unemployment rate drop dramatically, white women saw no change at all. The unemployment rate for white women over the age of 20 remained at 7.4 percent. However, black women still have an unemployment rate that is 67 percent higher than white women, so a dramatic gap still exists.

The unemployment picture was slightly better for nearly every group. Black men saw a five-percent drop (.9 points) in the unemployment rate, going from 18 percent to 17.1 percent. Among each of the four groups measured (black/white, men/women), black men continue to have the highest levels of unemployment. Additionally, black men have an unemployment rate that is nearly twice as high as that of white men. White male unemployment dropped from 9.2 percent to 8.8 percent last month.

http://www.bvonmoney.com/2010/06/08/black-women-unemployment/