Black Male Unemployment Comparable To The Great Depression
The government keeps claiming the economy is getting better and things are looking up.
Meanwhile the current job-loss rate among AfricanAmerican men is comparable to the Great Depression, according to the latest figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly one in five black men aged 20 or older is without a job.
The rate for black males is above 17-percent — numbers which are comparable to the Great Depression of the early 1930s — compared with white adult unemployment which is under 10-percent for both males and females in that group. At over 12-percent, joblessness for black women also skews above the national rate.
Roderick Harrison, of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, says, “Men in this recession, generally of all races, are getting hit harder than women particularly because of the loss of jobs in industries that have traditionally been male-dominated such as finance, construction, real estate, manufacturing. People with college degrees, with the exception of finance and real estate, have been better protected. They tend to have greater job stability.”
On a personal note, my younger cousin graduated with honors from a masters degree program last year and STILL has not found a job. We tell our kids to get good grades, stay focused, work hard and go to college and then you’ll be able to have or do anything you want in life. Can you imagine how burnt some of these unemployed recent college grads are feeling right now??? You know things are rough when young brothers with masters degrees can’t even get a gig.
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This is so tragic. I know what you mean to when you said we tell our kids to go to college get good grades and you’ll be fine. But that’s not always the case because I have a cousin who has a masters degree also and she currently is unemployed. We just have to keep telling our brothers to keep their heads up. It’s a struggle right now, but we have to believe that things are going to get better.
Times are definitely tough out here, and statistics don’t lie. Better days seem like an illusion at this point, but we as a people have to do our best to stay motivated, and ultimately, we will make it through.
This is so true. My man, graduated from his university although he graduated near the top of his graduating class, he has yet to find employment. I can’t understand it. If our men getting educated and still can’t gain employment what else will there be for them to do?
I guess now is the time for Black Males in AMERICA to open up there own businesses and employ our Black Males that will be our Black Men of the future.
Mean earnings in 2003 of a white woman who held a master’s degree: $48,388
• Mean earnings in 2003 of an African-American woman who held a master’s degree: $49,344 (U.S. Bureau of the Census)
• Median earnings in 2006 of a white American aged 25 to 34 who held a master’s degree: $50,000
• Median earnings in 2006 of an African American aged 25 to 34 who held a master’s degree: $50,000
Clearly when we talk about folks who can’t find a job with a master’s degree we are talking about the anomaly and not the rule.
What are these people getting degrees in? If you have a Masters in Art that is not going to get you very far.
In my personal experience..in the course of my career..I have worked for 13 different companies…and I have interview with exactly 1 black person. As a software engineer I am getting 5 or 6 emails a day in this current climate for jobs all over the country. Job Recruiters call me on a regular basis. I have a BS in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Spanish….Additionally I obtained some Microsoft Industry Certifications in order to break into the IT industry.
As black men we have to be will to get education in the growth industries.