86

The State of the Dream 2004: Enduring Disparities in Black and White

Unemployment

"When there is massive unemployment in the black community, it is called a social problem. But when there is massive unemployment in the white community, it is called a depression."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Local 1199 Salute to Freedom
March, 1968

• Currently, one out of nine African Americans cannot find a job.

• In 1972, Blacks had just over twice the unemployment rate of whites - 10.4% versus 5.1%. In 2003 Blacks had more than twice the unemployment rate of whites - 10.8% versus 5.2%.

• Except for 1973 and the years 1998-2001, the annual Black unemployment rate has been at least 10.0% since 1972.

[image:] Graph titled: Unemployment Rate, 1972 and 2003. Contains the following text: The Black-White Gap in Unemployment Rates has increased since 1972.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Historical Table A-2 (1972 is the first year with unemployment data for African Americans). See Appendix for Years to Parity calculation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 United for a Fair Economy • Racial Wealth Divide Project