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The latest jobs report from the Department of Labor for March revealed Black unemployment surged to 6.4 percent, the highest rate recorded since August 2022.
Despite an overall decrease in the national jobless rate to 3.8 percent, the uptick in Black unemployment from 5.6 percent in February underscores disparities in the labor market. This increase was particularly pronounced for Black women, whose unemployment rate climbed to 5.6 percent from 4.4 percent. Black men’s jobless rates climbed slightly higher to 6.2% from 6.1%.
“That’s a concerning trend,” Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told CNBC. “People are looking for more opportunities, not all of them are getting them, and that’s why the unemployment rate is rising.”
Gould noted that the unemployment rate for Black Americans has been on the rise since December. “I would say it’s not alarming yet, but I think it’s something that we really need to watch in coming months,” she said.
While the broader jobs report indicates a robust labor market, with strong employment gains of 303,000 jobs, the disparity in unemployment rates highlights ongoing challenges in ensuring equitable economic opportunities for all demographic groups.
Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, noted in a statement that the rise in Black unemployment, as highlighted by an analysis from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is likely a significant signal rather.
“In historical business cycles, Black workers have been the last to be hired during the expansion and first fired during the contraction, so an increase in the Black unemployment rate is eye-catching to forecasters,” he wrote, CNN reported. “But the rest of the jobs report shows the labor market to be in quite good shape, so the data point is unlikely to be a sign of broader weakness this time.”
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