Large racial gaps in unemployment rates are the norm: Unemployment rates for Black, white, and ‘nonwhite’ workers, and for Black workers had the composition of the Black labor force shared the same age, educational credentials, and gender mix as the white labor force, 1954–2020
| Nonwhite | Black | Black adjusted | White | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 10.4% | 5.1% | ||
| 1955 | 9.7% | 3.8% | ||
| 1956 | 9.4% | 3.6% | ||
| 1957 | 7.6% | 3.9% | ||
| 1958 | 15.1% | 6.1% | ||
| 1959 | 13.1% | 4.8% | ||
| 1960 | 11.4% | 4.9% | ||
| 1961 | 14.0% | 5.9% | ||
| 1962 | 12.2% | 4.9% | ||
| 1963 | 11.9% | 5.0% | ||
| 1964 | 9.9% | 4.7% | ||
| 1965 | 8.6% | 4.1% | ||
| 1966 | 9.0% | 3.3% | ||
| 1967 | 8.0% | 3.3% | ||
| 1968 | 6.7% | 3.2% | ||
| 1969 | 7.1% | 3.1% | ||
| 1970 | 9.2% | 4.5% | ||
| 1971 | 10.8% | 5.5% | ||
| 1972 | 10.4% | 5.0% | ||
| 1973 | 9.4% | 4.3% | ||
| 1974 | 10.5% | 5.0% | ||
| 1975 | 14.8% | 7.7% | ||
| 1976 | 13.9% | 12.5% | 6.8% | |
| 1977 | 14.1% | 12.7% | 6.1% | |
| 1978 | 12.8% | 11.4% | 5.1% | |
| 1979 | 12.3% | 10.8% | 4.9% | |
| 1980 | 14.2% | 12.5% | 6.2% | |
| 1981 | 15.7% | 13.8% | 6.5% | |
| 1982 | 19.0% | 16.9% | 8.3% | |
| 1983 | 19.6% | 17.4% | 8.0% | |
| 1984 | 15.9% | 13.8% | 6.2% | |
| 1985 | 15.1% | 13.1% | 5.8% | |
| 1986 | 14.5% | 12.5% | 5.7% | |
| 1987 | 12.9% | 11.1% | 5.0% | |
| 1988 | 11.8% | 9.9% | 4.4% | |
| 1989 | 11.4% | 9.7% | 4.2% | |
| 1990 | 11.4% | 9.7% | 4.5% | |
| 1991 | 12.5% | 10.7% | 5.7% | |
| 1992 | 14.1% | 12.1% | 6.1% | |
| 1993 | 12.9% | 11.1% | 5.5% | |
| 1994 | 11.5% | 9.8% | 4.8% | |
| 1995 | 10.4% | 8.8% | 4.5% | |
| 1996 | 10.5% | 8.9% | 4.2% | |
| 1997 | 10.0% | 8.5% | 3.8% | |
| 1998 | 9.0% | 7.5% | 3.4% | |
| 1999 | 8.0% | 6.8% | 3.3% | |
| 2000 | 7.5% | 6.4% | 3.1% | |
| 2001 | 8.6% | 7.2% | 3.8% | |
| 2002 | 10.3% | 8.9% | 4.7% | |
| 2003 | 10.8% | 9.4% | 4.8% | |
| 2004 | 10.4% | 9.1% | 4.5% | |
| 2005 | 10.1% | 8.6% | 4.1% | |
| 2006 | 8.9% | 7.5% | 3.8% | |
| 2007 | 8.3% | 7.1% | 3.9% | |
| 2008 | 10.1% | 8.9% | 4.7% | |
| 2009 | 14.8% | 13.2% | 7.8% | |
| 2010 | 15.9% | 14.2% | 8.0% | |
| 2011 | 15.8% | 13.8% | 7.2% | |
| 2012 | 13.9% | 12.0% | 6.6% | |
| 2013 | 13.0% | 11.1% | 6.0% | |
| 2014 | 11.3% | 9.7% | 4.9% | |
| 2015 | 9.5% | 8.2% | 4.2% | |
| 2016 | 8.4% | 7.2% | 4.0% | |
| 2017 | 7.5% | 6.5% | 3.5% | |
| 2018 | 6.4% | 5.7% | 3.2% | |
| 2019 | 6.0% | 5.3% | 3.0% | |
| 2020 | 11.4% | 10.2% | 6.5% |
Notes: The adjusted Black unemployment rate is obtained by creating 80 demographic “cells” in the data using four age categories, five educational credential categories, two races, and two genders. Each demographic cell’s unemployment rate is constructed and its weight in the overall workforce is calculated. Black adjusted unemployment rate is then calculated by applying the white workforce’s weights on age, educational credentials, and gender cells. This essentially assigns the Black workforce an underlying structure of age, educational credentialing, and gender that is identical to the white workforce and recalculates the Black unemployment rate.
Source: Author’s analysis of CPS data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS-CPS 2021) and EPI (2021a).
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