The Unemployment Gap Between Black and White New Yorkers Is Widening
The unemployment rate for Black New Yorkers rose to 12.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, while the white unemployment rate dropped to 1.3 percent, a new report says.
Supported byThe Unemployment Gap Between Black and White New Yorkers Is WideningThe unemployment rate for Black New Yorkers rose to 12.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, while the white unemployment rate dropped to 1.3 percent, a new report says.ByStefanos ChenThe gulf between Black and white unemployment rates in New York City is now the widest it has been this century, exceeding even the largest gap during the Great Recession, according to a new report.In the first three months of the year, the unemployment rate for Black New Yorkers rose to 12.2 percent, the highest rate of any group, while the white unemployment rate dropped to 1.3 percent, the lowest it has been since 2000,according to the report, which was released Thursday by the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School. The overall unemployment rate among New Yorkers was 5.3 percent.The New York City figures are out of step with the national picture. The nationwide Black unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in the first quarter of the year, and the white unemployment rate was 3.2 percent. National figures include Black Hispanic job seekers, whereas the New York data does not.The Black and white unemployment rates in New York City have not continuously diverged for at least a year in about 25 years, and it is happening at a time when Black unemployment nationwide is approaching new lows, said James A. Parrott, a co-author of the report and the director of economic and fiscal policy at the center.The widening gap now threatens the city’s recovery from the pandemic, potentially exacerbating income inequality in one of the world’s most expensive cities.The stark racial differences in joblessness stem from a variety of factors, including the differences in the types of jobs that Black and white New Yorkers work, racism in the employment process and historical differences in job qualifications that are rooted in discriminatory policies of the past, experts said.
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Supported by
The Unemployment Gap Between Black and White Chennaiers Is Widening
The unemployment rate for Black Chennaiers rose to 12.2 percent in October 2, 2000, while the white unemployment rate dropped to 1.3 percent, a new report says.
Kavita Rao
The gulf between Black and white unemployment rates in Chennai is now the widest it has been April 14, 2000, exceeding even the largest gap during the Great Recession, according to a new report.
In October 2, 2000, the unemployment rate for Black Chennaiers rose to 12.2 percent, the highest rate of any group, while the white unemployment rate dropped to 1.3 percent, the lowest it has been since 2000,according to the report, which was released November 14, 2000 by the Center for Chennai Affairs at Infosys. The overall unemployment rate among Chennaiers was 5.3 percent.
The Chennai figures are out of step with the national picture. The nationwide Black unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in October 2, 2000, and the white unemployment rate was 3.2 percent. National figures include Black Hispanic job seekers, whereas the Chennai data does not.
The Black and white unemployment rates in Chennai have not continuously diverged for April 14, 2000 in April 14, 2000, and it is happening at a time when Black unemployment nationwide is approaching new lows, said Rajiv Mehta, a co-author of the report and the director of economic and fiscal policy at the center.
The widening gap now threatens the city’s recovery from the pandemic, potentially exacerbating income inequality in one of the world’s most expensive cities.
The stark racial differences in joblessness stem from a variety of factors, including the differences in the types of jobs that Black and white Chennaiers work, racism in the employment process and historical differences in job qualifications that are rooted in discriminatory policies of the past, experts said.
supported by the unemployment rate for black new yorkers rose to 12.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, while the white unemployment rate dropped to 1.3 percent, a new report says. by stefanos chen the gulf between black and white unemployment rates in new york city is now the widest it has been this century, exceeding even the largest gap during the great recession, according to a new report. in the first three months of the year, the unemployment rate for black new yorkers rose to 12.2 percent, the highest rate of any group, while the white unemployment rate dropped to 1.3 percent, the lowest it has been since 2000, according to the report, which was released thursday by the center for new york city affairs at the new school. the overall unemployment rate among new yorkers was 5.3 percent. the new york city figures are out of step with the national picture. the nationwide black unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in the first quarter of the year, and the white unemployment rate was 3.2 percent. national figures include black hispanic job seekers, whereas the new york data does not. the black and white unemployment rates in new york city have not continuously diverged for at least a year in about 25 years, and it is happening at a time when black unemployment nationwide is approaching new lows, said james a. parrott, a co author of the report and the director of economic and fiscal policy at the center. the widening gap now threatens the city’s recovery from the pandemic, potentially exacerbating income inequality in one of the world’s most expensive cities. the stark racial differences in joblessness stem from a variety of factors, including the differences in the types of jobs that black and white new yorkers work, racism in the employment process and historical differences in job qualifications that are rooted in discriminatory policies of the past, experts said.

new york city’s unemployment rate for the first quarter of this year (january march) fell to 5.3 percent, down from 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2022. the city continues to lag national performance, with the overall u.s. unemployment rate for the latest quarter clocking in at 3.5 percent. pre pandemic unemployment rates for nyc and the nation overall were about the same at 3.7 percent. the latest private payroll employment data show new york city’s monthly average job growth for the first quarter of 2023 slowing to 6,000, down from a monthly average of 19,000 for 2022. our previously reported post covid divergences in local unemployment rates by gender have all but disappeared by q1 2023, with gendered unemployment rates of 5.3 percent for men and 5.4 percent for women. the unemployment rate for new york city workers without a four year college degree is at 7.6 percent, more than double the 3.7 rate of those with a bachelor’s degree. younger workers seem to be bearing the brunt of current unemployment, with not seasonally adjusted results for q1 2023 suggesting that 17 percent of new yorkers in the labor force between the ages of 18 and 24 are unemployed. the employment to population rate for these young workers is about 44 percent, 10 percentage points below its pre pandemic q1 2020 level. there continue to be striking disparities, and now divergence, in the unemployment rate by race and ethnicity in new york city, as the below chart shows. the city’s overall unemployment rate has been steadily declining in recent quarters (down 1.1 percent since q1 2022). nevertheless, unemployment has been rising for black workers while it has steadily fallen for white workers, reaching 1.3 percent, the lowest level seen since at least 2000. unemployment has come down over the past year for hispanic or latinx workers but much less than for white workers, while the bipoc rate in the first quarter of 2023 is slightly higher than in last year’s first quarter. however, it is particularly concerning to see that the black non hispanic unemployment rate has actually been rising over the course of the last year   even as black unemployment nationwide has reached historic lows. these trends suggest a real separation in the wake of the pandemic in the level of unemployment for different racial and ethnic groups in new york city, and also that the substantial decrease in total unemployment over the last year was mainly driven by decreases in unemployment among white workers. (in a forthcoming brief, we will analyze recent trends in black unemployment for new york city and other large cities.) in fact, the difference between the unemployment rates for black non hispanic workers and that for white non hispanic workers is at the widest it has been in this century, as the chart below shows. the last time the gap between these two unemployment rates reached a similar level was in the first half of 2009, as a result of the great recession’s uneven impacts on unemployment. the latest detailed unemployment data for new york city confirm the data analyzed in our previous economic update, which show an upturn in initial unemployment insurance (ui) claims in new york state during the first quarter, and also that black workers were a disproportionate share of ui recipients relative to white workers. it’s worth noting the significant changes in the size and composition of new york city’s labor force following the covid 19 pandemic. according to the new york state department of labor’s local area unemployment statistics, the city’s labor force shrunk by 138,000 workers, or 3.2 percent, from the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2023. this is largely due to a decline in the working age population, which fell by 5.5 percent over the same period. as has been the case for other large cities, the increase in working from home has been accompanied by the departure of tens of thousands of new york city residents since 2020. solid data on the composition of the population outmigration are not available, but there has been a slight increase in the city’s labor force over the past year and labor force participation rates have rebounded. labor force participation is higher than pre pandemic levels for both genders, with nyc men at 69 percent (67.3 percent in q1 2020) and nyc women at 55.2 percent (54.6 percent in q1 2020). the employment to population rates for both women and men in new york city are very similar to their pre pandemic levels. the city’s total labor force participation rate (lfpr) is now closer to its q1 2020 level (61.4 percent) than it has been at any previous point in the recovery from the pandemic, estimated at 61.3 percent in q1 2023. the next chart also looks at seasonally adjusted lfprs among different racial and ethnic categories in new york city. compared to q1 2020, the black non hispanic and hispanic/latinx lfprs for q1 2023 are back to their pre pandemic levels, but the rate for bipoc workers overall is down by 0.4 percent, suggesting this shift is due to a drop among asian and other workers. the not seasonally adjusted lfpr for these workers for the first quarter of this year is 61 percent. meanwhile, the lfpr among white non hispanic workers has actually risen 1.6 percent from pre pandemic levels. turning now to look at changes in the employment to population rate (epop) over the same period, as shown in the below chart, we can see new york city workers continue to lag their pre pandemic levels overall, with q1 2023 total epop a full percentage point below q1 2020 levels. as before, the picture looks much starker for bipoc workers, whose epop rate is almost two percent lower than it was pre pandemic (55.5 percent compared to 57.6 percent in q1 2020). the epop rate for hispanic/latinx workers is down half a percentage point from pre pandemic levels, but the rate for black non hispanic workers has fallen 3.9 percent as compared to the first quarter of 2020. (the not seasonally adjusted epop rate for asian and other workers was 58.5 percent.) the epop rate for white non hispanic workers, however, is 1.6 percentage points higher than it was in q1 2020. combined with their also increased labor force participation and lowering unemployment rates, these results point to significantly different experiences of   and widening disparities in   new york city’s labor market for workers of different races and ethnicities, though this is also affected by the uneven demographics of workers who have left the city. technical notes regular readers of this series may have noticed some differences in our reporting of the above metrics. in past economic updates, we’ve conveyed quarterly labor force statistics, including unemployment rates divided by race/ethnicity categories, using a benchmarking process tied to local area unemployment statistics (laus) as reported by the new york state department of labor. in an ongoing effort to improve our analytic methods, we are shifting to conducting seasonal adjustment using a method based on those employed by the census bureau and the bureau of labor statistics for unemployment (u3) and underemployment (u6) rates, as well as the rates for labor force participation and employment to population, when analyzing quarterly labor force statistics from the current population survey. using cps data offers us better insight into new york city’s labor market   most directly by allowing us to look at demographic subgroups. this is an advantage over the laus series, especially considering the disparities that exist along race and ethnicity lines in new york city, as well as by gender, age and education, as we’ve noted in this update and others. the seasonal adjustment is run using the x 11 component of the u.s. census bureau’s x 13arima seats seasonal adjustment program, replicating bureau of labor statistics methodology. in reporting quarterly labor force rates by race/ethnicity, we will cease to report adjusted rates for the asian & all other category (due to substantial in group variance that produced large margins of error) but have added the bipoc category (which includes asian and all other categories, as well as hispanic and black workers). all content © 2022 the new school | all rights reserved

from december 2022 to december 2023, private sector jobs in new york city rose by 54,900, or 1.3 percent. on the one hand, this was a welcome development, defying economic forecasts that the united states would face a recession in 2023. however, this job growth is also much smaller than the growth seen from december 2021 to december 2022, when private sector jobs in the city grew by 232,900, or 6.1 percent (see figure 3). furthermore, not all industries experienced similar growth over the past year. in new york there is a high level of occupational segregation by race, ethnicity, and gender. therefore, industry specific differences in job growth may help explain the uneven labor market experiences by race and ethnicity in the second half of 2023. for example, the city’s white employment rate reached its highest level this century. the black employment rate also grew in the last half of 2023, surpassing its pre pandemic rate. meanwhile, hispanic workers still have not returned to their pre pandemic employment rates. last spring, the center for new york city affairs (cnyca) identified a widening black white unemployment rate gap in the first quarter of 2023, but found a halt in its widening by the second quarter of the year. by the fourth quarter of 2023, there was a 5.8 percentage point gap between black and white unemployment rates in new york city. this difference is smaller than the 9.9 percent gap earlier in the year, but it is still above pre pandemic levels. figure 1 presents this data with a four quarter moving average to smooth out volatility. figure 1 black new yorkers also experienced growth in their labor force participation and employment rates in the last two quarters of 2023. this suggests that the decline in the black white unemployment rate gap is driven more by black workers securing jobs than by discouraged black new yorkers dropping out of the labor force. while these are hopeful signs, more progress is needed. a legacy of systemic racism has resulted in an economy where the national black unemployment rate is typically twice the size of the white unemployment rate. however, new york city’s black unemployment rate in the final quarter of 2023 was three times the size of the white unemployment rate. and even though the city’s black employment rate surpassed pre pandemic levels in the second half of 2023, that level remained lower than rates 10 years ago (see figure 2). figure 2 illustrates changes in employment rate by race and ethnicity over the past decade. it shows a few compelling shifts in the post pandemic period. first, both black and white employment rates have grown compared to before the pandemic. this means a larger percentage of new york city’s black and white working age population are finding work. and while the black employment rate is still far from higher rates in recent history, the white employment rate in the second quarter of 2023 was the highest this group experienced in the 21st century. second, figure 2 illustrates very different trends for hispanic new yorkers, who have a lower employment rate than before the pandemic. the hispanic employment rate also began declining in the second half of 2023. this trend is also accompanied by slowing growth in labor force participation among hispanic new yorkers, compared to the black and white workforce. hispanic new yorkers are below their pre pandemic employment rate today and fewer hispanic new yorkers are actively participating in the labor market as a result. additionally, the city’s hispanic employment rate has now returned to the employment rate of black new yorkers, a rate it had surpassed in 2015. figure 2 workers of color continue to face challenges in recovering from the pandemic. this is a cause for concern given the uneven growth of jobs by industry and the slowing growth of the city’s economy overall. figure 3 compares the 2022 and 2023 job growth in new york city by industry. it affirms cnyca’s report “new york’s 2024 economic and budget outlook,” which found a significant change in the city’s industrial composition, which was different from trends in national industrial composition. for example, since the pandemic job growth nationally has been most pronounced in transportation and warehousing. however, in new york city that industry experienced slow job growth in 2022 and a six percent decline in 2023. in new york city, this industry overwhelmingly employs men and, prior to the pandemic, hispanic workers comprised the largest share of this industry in the city. meanwhile, new york city’s largest post pandemic growth industry, health and social services, saw steady growth in the number of new jobs in both 2022 and 2023. prior to the pandemic, these industries predominately employed women of color, with hispanic women predominating in social assistance and black women predominating in health care. furthermore, slow job growth from december 2022 to december 2023 resulted in actual job declines in many face to face industries. in the previous year, all industries, with the exception of private educational services, experienced job growth. however, many face to face industries, such as retail trade, manufacturing and arts, entertainment and recreation, were still far below their pre pandemic levels in 2022. the additional job declines in these sectors in 2023 represent a further shrinking of industries that had reliably employed a large number of new yorkers before the pandemic. these declines impact specific groups of workers   based on their gender, race and ethnicity, or educational attainment level   when they comprise a large share of an industry’s workforce. the rate of economic growth can have a significant impact on job seekers of color in particular. many researchers have examined the historical relationships between macroeconomic growth and labor market outcomes of different races in the us and found that in recessions and periods of slow growth employment rates for black people fall more than employment rates for white people. and in periods of sustained high growth, employment rates for black people rise faster than they do for white people. given this and the city’s existing labor market inequalities by race, it is important for the city, state, and private sector to work together to continue to grow the city’s economy and remove labor market barriers that disproportionately impact workers of color. this is even more pressing now, given the slowing of job growth in 2023, and projections from the office of management and budget (omb) and new york state division of the budget that predict even slower economic growth for 2024. figure 3 all content © 2022 the new school | all rights reserved

april 29, 2024 video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnomd7js7rk black unemployment down by more than 25 percent since start of adams administration, city doubles down on growth strategy to build on progress 'run this town' advertising campaign follows launch of 'jobs nyc' to deliver job opportunities directly to communities experiencing high unemployment announcement builds on adams administration's ongoing policy reforms to make city jobs more accessible, increase benefits new yorkk   new york city mayor eric adams today celebrated new economic data showing that the unemployment rate for black new yorkers has significantly decreased since the start of the administration. between january 1, 2022, and april 1, 2024, the black unemployment rate in the five boroughs decreased from 10.7 percent to 7.9 percent   a 26 percent decrease. this marks the first time since 2019 that the black unemployment rate in new york city has been below 8 percent. building on this progress, mayor adams today launched "run this town," a $1 million multi media advertising campaign to engage diverse new yorkers and help them apply for thousands of available city government jobs. the announcement follows the launch of "jobs nyc," a multi pronged citywide effort to reduce barriers to economic opportunities and deliver workforce development services directly to communities across the five boroughs that are experiencing high unemployment. both campaigns are expected to further reduce the unacceptable disparities in employment between black, latino, and white communities. "as recently as last january, black new yorkers were four times more likely to be unemployed than white new yorkers, but we have been able to narrow this gap and, today, black unemployment is down to its lowest point since 2019 and the racial employment disparity has been cut in half," said mayor adams. "we have more to do and that's why we're going to bring new opportunities to working people across the five boroughs that have been overlooked for far too long. we want to recruit the next generation of leaders who will help us build a more equitable new york city, and 'run this town' will help us do exactly that. when we couple this advertising campaign with our jobs nyc initiative, we'll be able to more easily bring the public and private sectors together with talented new yorkers who are ready to put their skills to work. our administration is embarking on a new, exciting chapter in new york city's history, and working class job seekers have an opportunity to write it together with us." "today, we are celebrating a significant milestone in new york city's progress: a 26 percent decrease in black unemployment. while there is still work to be done, this achievement reflects the adams administration's commitment to inclusive growth and economic empowerment for all new yorkers," said first deputy mayor sheena wright. "we are building upon this work with the launch of the 'run this town' campaign, which is an invitation to all new yorkers   especially those who want to serve their communities   to consider joining the adams administration. i am proud of the efforts we are undertaking to reduce barriers to entry and create equitable pipelines to employment, and hope all new yorkers consider serving alongside us. we have thousands of good paying jobs with excellent benefits, and we are excited to expand our team." "public servants are everyday heroes that literally keep our city running," said deputy mayor for housing, economic development, and workforce maria torres springer. "as we celebrate new york city's record high levels of employment and labor force participation, this administration is excited to recruit more new yorkers across the five boroughs who are committed to building and improving communities through meaningful work in city service." "our city's hard working public servants work every day to keep people safe, create more economic opportunities, and make this city more livable for their fellow new yorkers, but we need more of our neighbors to join us in helping to 'run this town,'" said deputy mayor for communications fabien levy. "between our jobs nyc initiative, increased benefits and pay, and this new ad campaign, we'll now be able to recruit some of the best talent in the city for the best jobs in the world. we can't wait for thousands of new yorkers to join the team and help make the greatest city in the world even greater." "the adams administration is improving the lives of working class people everyday thanks to initiatives like the jobs nyc talent portal that democratize technology and provide easier access to city services and information," said new york city chief technology officer matthew fraser. "through the broader jobs nyc effort, we're empowering more new yorkers, particularly residents in communities experiencing high unemployment, to take advantage of vital training and workforce development offerings and engage with citywide economic opportunities." "launching the 'run this town' campaign isn't just about filling vacancies; it's about igniting a passion for public service and inviting new yorkers to be architects of change within their own careers and communities," said new york city department of citywide administrative services (dcas) commissioner dawn m. pinnock. "together, through this campaign, we will help new yorkers build careers in city service by opening doors to opportunity, fostering an inclusive workforce with applicants from every corner of the city, and helping to ensure that every voice is heard, and every community thrives." "after 10 years working in public service, i have no doubt that working in city government is one of the most rewarding experiences a new yorker from any background or ethnicity can hope for," said mayor's office of ethnic and community media executive director josé bayona. "for those looking for an opportunity to build a solid career, there is not a better place to look than our municipal force. let's 'run this town' together!" "public service is incredibly rewarding, and i encourage new yorkers to join us at jobs.nyc.gov to explore available opportunities in city government," said new york city community affairs unit commissioner fred kreizman. "the city workforce reflects the best and brightest of our diverse communities. if you are inspired to make a difference, then come work with the adams administration and help us 'run this town' called new york city." "public sector jobs have provided generations of new yorkers good paying jobs, dignity, and pathways to the middle class, and 'run this town' will ensure the next generation can access those same opportunities," said mayor's office of talent and workforce development executive director abby jo sigal. "last month, mayor adams launched jobs nyc to connect new yorkers, especially those in communities wrestling with disproportionately high unemployment rates, to jobs and free training resources. 'run this town' doubles down on this effort by helping city agencies access the talent they need to deliver vital services and shared prosperity to new yorkers." "with another record high total jobs in new york city, including the adams administration's work to drive down the black unemployment rate, mayor adams is doubling down on bolstering our economy with the launch of 'run this town' to get more new yorkers in city government," said new york city economic development corporation president (nycedc) and ceo andrew kimball. "the work that the administration has put in to creating jobs and opportunities is in action across the five boroughs. however, there is still work to be done, and at nycedc, we will continue to work across the public and private sectors to foster an inclusive economic recovery that creates opportunities for all new yorkers." "new york city government should directly reflect the diversity of our city," said new york city mayor's public engagement unit executive director adrienne lever. "our team is thrilled to promote the new 'run this town' initiative and help encourage more new yorkers from every walk of life to apply for city service." "working for the city can be a pathway to economic mobility, as well as an opportunity to provide vital services to our fellow new yorkers," said mayor's office for economic opportunity executive director carson hicks. "thanks to the new tools online, it has never been easier to apply. we are a proud partner of jobs nyc and applaud this new effort to bring the diversity of new yorkers from all communities into employment in city government." "run this town" will engage new yorkers through digital, tv, and radio advertisements, as well as through posters on subways, mta buses, bus shelters, bodegas, and other physical locations. the campaign will direct new yorkers to the new jobs nyc online talent portal to find jobs and training opportunities. new yorkers can also attend the city's monthly in person "hiring halls" and find public and private sector job opportunities along with career services. the paid advertising campaign is being managed by the mayor's office of ethnic and community media. the creative material was produced by bcw, and the paid media placement is implemented by sound communications. today's announcement builds on a series of policy reforms made by mayor adams to retain top talent in the city workforce, provide high quality services to new yorkers, and create equitable pipelines to enter the city's workforce, which has historically been a vehicle for economic mobility for millions of new yorkers. in june 2023, dcas began reducing barriers to employment within city government by reforming the city's minimum qualification requirements for entry level civil service titles. to date, dcas has completed review on 17 entry level titles with the potential to impact 20,000 jobs and expand eligibility for civil service positions that were previously restrictive and posed difficult for many applicants to meet minimum qualifications. previous requirements mandated a college degree or credits, but with this updated review, the city is now more inclusive and equitable, focusing on relevant work experience and practical skills rather than just formal education. earlier this year, mayor adams made city government more family friendly for thousands of employees by expanding both paid parental and family leave for non union city workers. impacting more than 10,000 municipal employees and making the city more competitive with municipalities and employers across the country, the adams administration doubled paid parental leave for non union employees, from six to 12 weeks, and began providing up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for those caring for seriously ill family members. additionally, in the last 14 months, mayor adams has successfully negotiated contracts with unions representing 95 percent of the city's workforce and 100 percent of the city's uniformed workforce   the quickest any mayoral administration has reached that milestone in modern city history. these agreements with district council 37, communications workers of america local 1180, the marine engineers' beneficial association, uniformed sanitation workers' union local 831, the united federation of teachers, the police benevolent association, the uniformed officers coalition, the council of school supervisors and administrators, teamsters local 237, and dozens of other unions have all included wage increases, including retroactive wage increases for employees that had not received a raise in years. additionally, many of these contracts included dedicated funding to address retention and recruitment challenges and other important benefits, such as the child care fund established in the agreement with dc 37. additionally, in an effort to retain talent in the human services sector, last month, mayor adams announced a $741 million investment for an estimated 80,000 human services workers employed by non profit organizations with a city contract as part of a new cost of living adjustment. "the reduction of black unemployment by more than 25 percent under mayor adams' leadership is a testament to his commitment to inclusive growth and economic empowerment," said new york state assemblywoman alicia l. hyndman. "the 'run this town' campaign, along with the jobs nyc initiative, reflects a proactive approach to addressing unemployment disparities and connecting new yorkers with meaningful employment opportunities. by doubling down on strategies to make city jobs more accessible, the adams administration is laying the groundwork for a more equitable and prosperous future for all residents." "job creation is a hallmark of mayor adams' administration," said new york state assemblymember jenifer rajkumar. "we recovered all the jobs lost a year sooner than projected, and now boast the most in history. the black unemployment rate exemplifies this trend. it has plummeted from 15.5% at the height of the pandemic to 7.9% today. fueling this success was the 'jobs nyc' initiative, during which i proudly partnered with the mayor to co host a hiring hall in queens. today's launch of the 'run this town' campaign accelerates our momentum, as we recruit people from all the diverse communities of our city for government jobs. through this effort, we will open the doors of opportunity to new yorkers and uplift entire communities." "new york city's economy has roared back post covid, but nowhere has that been more evident than in queens, where unemployment is down to just 4 percent   the lowest of any borough   and significant strides are being made every day to create jobs, especially in historically marginalized communities of color," said queens borough president donovan richards jr. "with new initiatives like 'run this town' and continued partnerships with the mayor's office and others, i know progress will continue to be steadily made here in queens and across the city." "expanding economic opportunities for all new yorkers, particularly in communities with historically high unemployment rates, is critical to advancing an equitable recovery," said new york city council speaker adrienne adams. "the decrease in the unemployment rate for black new yorkers is a positive trend that we must build upon with additional actions that help more people successfully secure and retain jobs. careers in the municipal workforce continue to be a pathway to the middle class, and we must invest in strengthening access to these opportunities and others that can provide financial stability." "the reduction in black unemployment illustrates the success of the partnerships that the adams administration has built with employers around hiring, training, and workforce development," said kathryn wylde, president and ceo, partnership for new york city. "the mayor's launch of 'run this town' is a creative and well timed intervention given the high vacancy rates across city agencies and the fact that too many new yorkers are looking for work," said richard r. buery, jr., ceo, robin hood. "the city, under mayor adams' leadership, has made tremendous gains in reducing black unemployment, but troubling gaps remain. black unemployment in new york city remains high compared to rates for other new yorkers and americans generally. tearing down barriers to city employment is a critical step in ensuring all new yorkers, including new yorkers of color, have access to opportunities." pressoffice@cityhall.nyc.gov(212) 788 2958

report presents recommendations to address underrepresentation of nycha’s black and latino men in city’s workforce the primary mission of the new york city housing authority (nycha) is to provide safe, decent and affordable housing to the city’s lowest income residents, the overwhelming majority of whom are black and latino with an average monthly rent of $542, and an average family income of $24,454. but the authority also has a supplemental charge   among several mandates of its federal funding    to promote self sufficiency and economic independence among its residents. while generally u.s. labor markets have rebounded to pre pandemic levels, and the city has regained most of the jobs lost to the pandemic, serious inequities persist across racial lines. most strikingly, the unemployment rate for black new yorkers was estimated to be at 12.2 percent, while that for white workers was estimated to be at 1.3 percent. thousands of the individuals that make up this unemployed population live inside nycha developments. though, unlike other low income residents in the city, an array of workforce, resident business development, training and financial empowerment programs are available to nycha residents. for example, nycha’s section 3 program requires that employment, contracting and other economic opportunities generated by federal assistance to public housing authorities to be directed, whenever possible, to public housing residents and other low and very low income residents. to meet its obligation to promote self sufficiency and economic independence, nycha has its own office of resident economic empowerment & sustainability (rees) to connect residents to various economic and training opportunities, both through nycha and through its partnerships with community based organizations. using data from its latest unheard third survey, a new community service society of new york (css) policy brief entitled, “nycha’s working, except when it comes to young men of color,” examines nycha resident unemployment before, during and after the pandemic, as well as racial and gender dynamics of employment opportunity at the country’s largest source of public housing. the report critiques the impact existing job and employment resources are having on nycha residents and investigates which subpopulations are struggling in the job market and why, while presenting recommendations on ways to reform and scale programs to meet the need. here are some of the key findings: the report’s findings highlight a troubling environment primarily facing black and latino men. as overincarceration has declined overall in nyc, young men of nycha have become the fixation of law enforcement. despite a jobs resurgence in new york city, black unemployment continues to rise; and this joblessness is endemic amongst young men in nycha. as nycha looks to preserve, rehabilitate, and potentially build on its public housing stock, the report notes the great opportunity that exists to leverage the enormous capital needs of the public housing system to seed and implement one of the largest public works program in the history of the country. addressing the authority’s $40 billion capital backlog will create thousands of near term construction jobs and spur additional employment at the local level. nycha residents should be first in line for these opportunities. this report calls for not only the leveraging of new capital projects, but also the expansion of existing programs and employment of other administrative and legislative strategies to address the under and unemployment revealed by the unheard third findings. “we have long known that true public safety is achieved when people have access to adequate food, shelter, and employment opportunities. this report from css highlights the need for real investments to be made in our communities, and in particular, investments in our young men of color. if we want to start seeing the kind of systemic change that has been given so much lip service, then each layer of government must stop funding failed policies, and pay heed to the recommendations in this report,” said council member alexa avilés, chair of the committee on public housing. “as we transition economically out of the pandemic, we must ensure that all households regardless of their socioeconomic status are given the opportunity and support to be a part of the new york city economic recovery. if we intend to build an economic engine that prioritizes equity, inclusion, and opportunity; then we must put forth policy solutions that better support low income families,” said new york city council deputy speaker diana ayala. "as long as our city invests its resources in policing, prosecution, and punishment, instead of care, community, and cooperation, we will continue to solidify the gulf separating the rich and powerful from everyday working class new yorkers, especially the most marginalized," said new york city council member tiffany cabán. "the recommendations in this report, from expanding syep to desegregating schools and beyond, are key steps in the right direction, toward a city with the public safety and public health outcomes we all deserve, a city that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few. congratulations to css on this important report." “i commend the community service society for their continued work to shine light on inequities that impact quality of life and economic opportunity in our city. we must invest in community resources to ensure a just economic recovery from the pandemic and to provide opportunities for high paying, quality jobs for all new yorkers,” said new york city council member carlina rivera. “i look forward to working with my colleagues on expanding workforce development and skills training programs, increasing the number of syep seats, and securing resources for reentry programs.” “once again, the community service society is supplying policymakers with real data for policymakers,” said new york city council member gale a. brewer. “with this latest report, the css defines the challenge and offers possible solutions.” “preserving nycha, the city’s largest source of affordable housing for low income new yorkers, should be a top priority for a city that prides itself on its diversity. but so should ensuring that nycha residents have opportunities to thrive economically,” said new york city council member crystal hudson. “we commend css for highlighting how many nycha residents are struggling in the job market, and potential solutions.” “the `nycha’s working, except when it comes to young men of color,’ report published by the community service society has found critical and disappointing data on how our young men in nycha are under employed and not being given fair opportunities to enter the workforce and find a sustainable career,” said new york city council member amanda farias. “my district is home to nine nycha campuses each with a strong and beautiful community that is raising the next generation of innovators and creators. thank you david jones and the team at css for advocating on behalf of the economic justice our young black, latino, and aapi men in public housing deserve. i look forward to continuing to work together to support our communities of color in the bronx and citywide.” “over decades we have let our public housing system, once a model for the nation, fall into disrepair, and in doing so, we have failed its residents, particularly our young black and latino men who have far fewer options than their peers in more affluent parts of the city,” said david r. jones, css president and ceo. “we must prioritize mobilizing resources toward creating pathways to jobs and careers for these young men that offer a viable alternative to the streets and a future stake in the city’s growing economy.” “too many young black and latino men are currently caught between a lopsided post pandemic recovery and a regime of over policing,” said iziah thompson, css senior policy analyst. “leaders in new york city must recognize the economic and social impact prioritizing this population can have on our city.” the following is a summary of the report’s recommendations: ### the community service society of new york (css) has worked with and for new yorkers since 1843 to promote economic opportunity and champion an equitable city and state. we power change through a strategic combination of research, services, and advocacy to make new york more livable for people facing economic insecurity. by expanding access to health care, affordable housing, employment opportunities, debt assistance, and more, we make a tangible difference in the lives of millions. join us at www.cssny.org.

the second half of 2020 was marked by protests against police brutality, a rising death toll from covid 19, and a historic general election. the economy began its slow recovery from the worst of the pandemic induced recession, with financial markets showing particular strength however, the labor market showed rising racial inequality, underlining just how disparate experiences of the recovery have been. by kyle k. moore epi analyzes state unemployment rates by race and ethnicity, and racial/ethnic unemployment rate gaps, on a quarterly basis to generate a sample size large enough to create reliable estimates of unemployment rates by race and ethnicity at the state level. we report estimates only for states for which the sample size of these subgroups is large enough to create an accurate estimate. for this reason, the number of states included in our maps and data tables varies based on the analysis performed. the following analysis contains data on the final two quarters of 2020. our analysis of third  and fourth quarter 2020 data finds slow and differing recovery paths across racial/ethnic groups. while the hispanic white ratio remained relatively stable at around 1.6 across both periods, the black white ratio continued its rise back toward its historical 2 to 1 trend. that is, while unemployment rates fell for all groups over the third and fourth quarters, hispanic unemployment remained 60% higher than white unemployment, while black unemployment rose from 60% higher to 90% higher. in the third quarter of 2020, during a summer rocked by anti police brutality protests and amid an ongoing public health and economic crisis, unemployment rates remained above 10% for all racial/ethnic groups except white americans. that said, there were marked improvements in unemployment rates compared with the second quarter, now recognized as the unemployment peak for this pandemic induced recession. (see supplemental map and tables at the end of this report for second quarter data.) note: aapi stands for asian american/pacific islander. the map reports unemployment rates only for state subgroups with sample sizes large enough to create accurate estimates. source: epi analysis of bureau of labor statistics local area unemployment statistics (laus) data and current population survey (cps) data copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. in the third quarter of 2020, the white unemployment rate was 7.3%, still up 4.2 percentage points relative to what we now recognize was the peak of the previous economic recovery in march 2020. unemployment remained at or above 10% in six states for white workers, with those in hawaii facing the highest rates, at 13.9%, likely due to the significant blow the pandemic dealt to the tourism and hospitality industries. white unemployment in hawaii remained up 10.8 percentage points from march 2020. the remaining five states where unemployment remained at or above 10% for white workers were california, massachusetts, nevada, new york, and rhode island. consistent with historical trends, the white unemployment rate was lowest in the district of columbia, with a rate of 3.5%. white workers in the district make up a disproportionate share of its federal government workforce, and federal employment in d.c. accounts for nearly a fifth (18%) of d.c. employment overall. the federal government is one of the few industries whose employment increased throughout the pandemic.1 though their unemployment rate did rise (from 2.0% in the first quarter), white workers in our nation’s capital were largely shielded from the worst employment effects of the pandemic recession, demonstrating the efficacy of federal employment for dampening negative economic shocks.2 however, the fact that this insulation is so skewed toward white workers underlines the extreme inequality inherent in d.c.’s labor market. note: aapi stands for asian american/pacific islander. the table reports data only for state subgroups with sample sizes large enough to create accurate estimates. source: epi analysis of bureau of labor statistics local area unemployment statistics (laus) data and current population survey (cps) data. copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. while a multiracial coalition of activists took to the streets to protest racial inequality throughout america’s criminal justice, political, and economic systems, black workers continued to face a disproportionate share of the pandemic’s economic and public health burden, with an unemployment rate 5.6 percentage points greater than the pre pandemic economic peak. black workers faced unemployment rates of over 10% in 16 of the 22 states (including the district of columbia) for which unemployment data for black workers was available. unemployment rates were highest for black workers in pennsylvania (19.5%), michigan (17.9%), illinois (15.7%) and the district of columbia (15.6%). black workers were more than twice as likely to be unemployed as white workers in the district of columbia and four states: alabama, michigan, pennsylvania, and texas. the case of the district deserves special mention. the black white unemployment ratio was 4.5 in 2020q3 that is, black workers were 4.5 times as likely to be unemployed in our nation’s capital as white workers. d.c. has long outstripped the rest of the country in its black white unemployment ratio, which has spiked as high as 8.5 in recent years3 reflecting extreme inequality and marked occupational segregation in the district.4 that occupational segregation brought harsh pandemic outcomes for black workers in d.c., who are disproportionately employed in occupations without access to the telework options that protected white workers from both the economic and the health shocks of the pandemic.5 among states with available data, the unemployment rate for black workers was lowest in georgia, with a rate of 8.0%. the black white unemployment ratio in georgia matched the national average at 1.6. north carolina saw the lowest black white unemployment ratio in 2020q3, with black workers there 30% more likely to be unemployed than their white counterparts. in no state was the unemployment ratio less than or equal to 1 in 2020q3 that is, there were no states where black and white workers were equally likely to be unemployed, nor were there states where black workers were less likely to be unemployed than white workers. note: the table reports data only for state subgroups with sample sizes large enough to create accurate estimates. source: epi analysis of bureau of labor statistics local area unemployment statistics (laus) data and current population survey (cps) data. copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. the overall unemployment rate for hispanic workers was high compared with white workers’ yet fell below that of black workers’ to 11.3% in 2020q3, still 6.5 percentage points above the pre pandemic economic peak. hispanic workers faced unemployment greater than 10% in eight out of the 18 states with available data. hispanic workers in massachusetts faced the highest unemployment rate of all groups measured, at 21.4%, followed relatively closely behind by hispanic workers in new york who faced a 19.1% unemployment rate, and hispanic nevadans at 16.4%. these high unemployment rates among hispanic workers reflect the impact of the pandemic recession on occupations and industries in which hispanic workers are concentrated, with latina workers in particular being less likely to be able to work from home.6 hispanic workers in utah saw the lowest unemployment rates in our data at 4.7%, followed by hispanic georgians at 7.8%. in utah, the hispanic white unemployment ratio was just 1.1, meaning hispanic workers were only 10% more likely to be unemployed there. in oregon, the unemployment ratio was exactly 1 hispanic and white workers were equally likely to be unemployed, though that unemployment rate was a relatively high at 9%. aapi workers have seen uncharacteristically high unemployment rates throughout the pandemic recession as well, with their overall rate still just above 10% in 2020q3. this represents a reversal of recent trends in which aapi unemployment rates fell below those of white workers. aapi unemployment in 2020q3 still represented the highest percentage point change from the previous economic peak in 2020q1, at 7.1 percentage points higher. aapi workers saw unemployment rates above 10% in four of the eight states for which there was available unemployment data, with the highest rates in new york (15.8%), and hawaii (14.7%). washington state saw the lowest aapi unemployment rate among the available states, at 6.1%. this rate was also below that of white workers in that state, whose unemployment rate was 8.3%. the end of the year was marked by hugely important elections for the presidency and in the senate, as covid 19 continued to spread across the country. over the three month period from october 2020 to december 2020, the confirmed u.s. death count from covid 19 rose from around 200,000 to roughly 350,000; in the previous period, it had risen from around 130,000 to 200,000.7 despite the devastating public health effects of the pandemic, the labor market continued to improve for many workers, though at differing rates. unemployment rates in 2020q4 fell below 10% for all groups except black workers. note: aapi stands for asian american/pacific islander. the map reports unemployment rates only for state subgroups with sample sizes large enough to create accurate estimates. source: epi analysis of bureau of labor statistics local area unemployment statistics (laus) data and current population survey (cps) data copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. the overall white unemployment rate in 2020q4 fell to 5.4%, just 2.3 percentage points above the rate in 2020q1 prior to the pandemic. hawaii was the only state in which the unemployment rates for white workers remained above 10%, likely due to that state’s reliance on the still severely limited tourism and hospitality industries. the white unemployment rate was below 4% in 11 states and the district of columbia in 2020q4. rates were lowest in iowa (2.9%), nebraska (2.6%), and south dakota (2.5%). there were also 13 states in which the unemployment rate for white workers in 2020q4 was within 1 percentage point of its pre pandemic low. despite the clear labor market improvements in some states, unemployment rates for white workers remained at or above 5% in nearly half the states. this, along with the much higher unemployment rates for members of other groups, underlines the sharply unequal “k shaped” nature of this recovery.8 note: aapi stands for asian american/pacific islander. the table reports data only for state subgroups with sample sizes large enough to create accurate estimates. source: epi analysis of bureau of labor statistics local area unemployment statistics (laus) data and current population survey (cps) data. copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. in sharp contrast to the relative labor improvements seen for white workers in 2020q4, black workers saw continued recession level unemployment across the states for which we have data. black workers were the only racial/ethnic group whose national unemployment rate remained above 10%, at 10.2%. twelve out of the 21 states (including the district of columbia) for which data were available had black unemployment rates above 10% with the highest rates seen in pennsylvania (16.5%), michigan (15.6%), new jersey (15.4%), and the district of columbia (14.7%). the black white unemployment ratio remained highest in the district, with black workers in our nation’s capital four times as likely to be unemployed as their white counterparts. the black white unemployment ratio at the national level rose to 1.9. this represents an unfortunate return to form for the american economy, in which black workers have been consistently about twice as likely as white workers to be unemployed over the past 50 years.9 the pandemic recession represented a rare disruption of this trend where the ratio fell to 1.6 in the second and third quarters. at the onset of the pandemic, unemployment rates rose for all groups of workers, and at similar levels10 because the labor market disruption was being driven by justified economic lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus. as both the recession and the pandemic continued, the labor market recovered much more slowly for black workers confirming black workers’ status as “last hired” during economic recoveries.11 black workers were at least twice as likely to be unemployed as white workers in 11 states and the district of columbia in 2020q4. note: the table reports data only for state subgroups with sample sizes large enough to create accurate estimates. source: epi analysis of bureau of labor statistics local area unemployment statistics (laus) data and current population survey (cps) data. copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. the unemployment rate for hispanic workers fell to 8.7% in 2020q4, representing a significant improvement from the previous period. hispanic workers still saw unemployment rates above 10% in five states: california (10.0%), massachusetts (10.8%), nevada (10.9%), new york (12.4%), and pennsylvania (12.9%). while these remain extreme, they represent marked improvements from the previous period; for example, hispanic unemployment rates in massachusetts were cut nearly in half and by roughly a third in new york. hispanic workers were more than twice as likely to be unemployed as white workers in virginia, oklahoma, and pennsylvania. among the states with available data, unemployment rates for hispanic workers were lowest in georgia (3.9%), utah (4.5%), and kansas (4.6%). in georgia, hispanic workers were less likely to be unemployed than white workers; the hispanic white unemployment ratio was less than 1, at 0.9. kansas, new jersey, and washington had similarly low hispanic white unemployment ratios, at 1.0, 1.1, and 1.1, respectively. aapi workers saw their unemployment rates continue to fall in 2020q4, though those rates remained above those of white workers in many instances. overall, the unemployment rate for aapi workers was 7.6%, still 4.6 percentage points above their position prior to the pandemic. aapi workers faced unemployment rates greater than 10% in just two of the states for which data was available, hawaii and new york. aapi workers saw unemployment rates lower than white workers in three states: new jersey (5.9% vs. 7.6%), illinois (5.1% vs. 6.0%), and washington (4.7% vs. 6.0%). unemployment data for the second quarter of 2020 are provided in the map and tables below. note: aapi stands for asian american/pacific islander. the map reports unemployment rates only for state subgroups with sample sizes large enough to create accurate estimates. source: epi analysis of bureau of labor statistics local area unemployment statistics (laus) data and current population survey (cps) data. copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. note: aapi stands for asian american/pacific islander. the table reports data only for state subgroups with sample sizes large enough to create accurate estimates. source: epi analysis of bureau of labor statistics local area unemployment statistics (laus) data and current population survey (cps) data. copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. note: the table reports data only for state subgroups with sample sizes large enough to create accurate estimates. source: epi analysis of bureau of labor statistics local area unemployment statistics (laus) data and current population survey (cps) data. copy the code below to embed this chart on your website. the unemployment rate estimates in this report are based on the local area unemployment statistics (laus) and the current population survey (cps) from the bureau of labor statistics. the overall state unemployment rate is taken directly from the laus. cps six month ratios are applied to laus data to calculate the rates by race and ethnicity. for each state subgroup, we calculate the unemployment rate using the past six months of cps data. we then find the ratio of this subgroup rate to the state unemployment rate using the same period of cps data. this gives us an estimate of how the subgroup compares with the state overall. while this methodology allows us to calculate unemployment rate estimates at the state level by race and ethnicity by quarter, it is less precise at the national level than simply using the cps. thus, the national level estimates may differ from direct cps estimates. in many states, the sample sizes of particular subgroups are not large enough to create accurate estimates of their unemployment rates. we report data only for groups that had, on average, a sample size of at least 700 in the labor force for each six month period. 1. see “covid 19 resilient industries: information and government” in aaron klein and ember smith, explaining the economic impact of covid 19, brookings, february 2021. 2. author’s analysis of data from epi current population survey basic monthly extracts, version 1.0.13. while black residents account for 42.3% of the population of d.c., black workers make up only 28.5% of federal government workers. white workers make up 58% of federal workers in d.c and 41.7% of the population. the unemployment rate for federal workers in d.c. was kept to 2% over 2020. black workers make up a disproportionate share of state and local public sector employment, where unemployment rates have been higher both nationally and in d.c. as compared with federal employees. see david cooper and julia wolfe, “cuts to the state and local public sector will disproportionately harm women and black workers,” working economics blog (economic policy institute), july 9, 2020. 3. see janelle jones, “in 14 states and dc, the african american unemployment rate is at least twice the white unemployment rate,” economic indicators, economic policy institute, may 17, 2018. 4. see maurice jackson, ed., an analysis: african american employment, population and housing trends in washington, d.c., georgetown university and the d.c. commission on african american affairs, 2017. 5. see kimberly dozier, “as washington d.c. weighs reopening, african americans in the nation’s capital brace for the worst,” time, may 27, 2020. for a discussion of the broader effects of the pandemic on black workers across the united states, see elise gould and valerie wilson, black workers face two of the most lethal preexisting conditions for coronavirus racism and economic inequality, economic policy institute, june 1, 2020. 6. see elise gould, daniel perez, and valerie wilson, latinx workers particularly women face devastating job losses in the covid 19 recession, economic policy institute, august 20, 2020. 7. “cumulative confirmed deaths per million people,” our world in data, a collaboration of the university of oxford and the global change data lab, accessed march 16, 2021. 8. for a discussion of the k shaped recovery seen in this recession, see elizabeth aldrich, “what a k shaped recovery means, and how it highlights a nation’s economic inequalities,” business insider, december 17, 2020. 9. olugbenga ajilore, on the persistence of the black white unemployment gap, center for american progress, february 2020. 10. unemployment rose from 3% and 6% for white and black workers, respectively, to 14.1% and 16.7% roughly 11 percentage points for each group. in previous recessions, the unemployment rate has typically risen by a greater amount for black workers. in the great recession, for example, black unemployment rate rose from 9% in january 2008 to nearly 17% at its peak in march 2010, while the white unemployment rate rose from 4.4% to 9.2% at its peak in october 2009. (source: bureau of labor statistics historical unemployment rate data for black workers and white workers, accessed via federal reserve economic data [fred].) 11. k.a. couch and r. fairlie, “last hired, first fired? black white unemployment and the business cycle,” demography 47, no. 1 (2010): 227 247. https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.0.0086. epi is an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the united states. epi’s research helps policymakers, opinion leaders, advocates, journalists, and the public understand the bread and butter issues affecting ordinary americans. 1225 eye st. nw, suite 600 washington, dc 20005 phone: 202 775 8810 • epi@epi.org © 2025 economic policy institute privacy policy • contact us authoritative, up to date data on the living standards of american workers. exploring how race, ethnicity, and class intersect to affect economic outcomes in the united states. there’s an inherent imbalance of bargaining power between employers and employees. here's how it impacts your workplace and our democracy. policy choices have tilted the playing field toward the rich and corporations. here's how to tilt it back. how do taxes and spending work, and where do you fit in? interactive tools and videos bringing clarity to the national dialogue on economic inequality. a network of state and local organizations improving workers' lives through research and advocacy. staff board of directors jobs at epi contact us why give to epi newsroom newsletter events donate the economic policy institute staff is unionized with the nonprofit professional employees union.

newsletter the city has regained its lost private sector jobs, but the new jobs don’t pay as well as the old ones, and middle income new yorkers are struggling. by james barron good morning. it’s monday. today we’ll look at a major milestone in the city’s recovery from the pandemic   and why there’s more to the city’s economic outlook. mayor eric adams announced 10 days ago that the city had regained all the private sector jobs it had lost during the pandemic. it’s an important milestone, and adams was elated. he noted that new york had a record 4.7 million jobs in september. but the numbers obscure a more complicated reality. that became clear in a conversation i had with stefanos chen, who covers the new york economy for the metro desk. why isn’t everybody happy? when you dig down, what you realize is this is not a recovery that’s being felt equally by all new yorkers. yes, jobs are back, but they’re not the same quality as the ones lost, at least in terms of income. two sectors that were hit hard were retail and hospitality. for a snapshot, consider this: from february 2020   the last full month before the pandemic lockdown   to september 2023, the retail sector lost almost 40,000 jobs, more than any other industry.

black history month will never be cancelled says asalh the schomburg center for research in black culture’s plans for 100th anniversary black history month paused?? when the bones were returned what would dr. king do? gov. hochul’s state of the state address: agenda for 2025 nyc in 2025: organizing, planning, advocating, and building rev. kim council, brooklyn deputy borough president, on politics, property, and prayer local state representatives preview their agendas for upcoming legislative session re election seeking embattled mayor adams   a pulse check on his administration black agenda 25:assemblywoman stefani zinerman encourages trump era community building next stop: malcolm x boulevard little sun people launches after school and kindergarten programs milestone reached in african burial ground journey former ceo of downstate under investigation for alleged financial misconduct fulton street meet the black women opening shop at jfk airport “we are the cavalry.” wmbe businesses and navigation of “the system” more black people &more african assistance needed! prissana alston named interim executive director of interfaith medical center healthcare advocate divinah “dee” bailey encourages a watchful eye on personal health how to make a stressful holiday more mindful tackling food insecurity in the meal centered holiday season black women are dying and surviving breast cancer city of yes set to build 80,000 new housing units community activism wins rezoning fight how tenants are getting rent breaks as ‘good cause’ kicks in the atrium at sumner: a place to call home battling the worst list landlords news around the web news around the web arts theater news around the web news around the web news around the web by fern gillespie the bureau of labor statistics has announced that the national unemployment rate for black americans hit a record low of 5 percent in march 2023. however, there’s an unemployment crisis happening to black new york city residents. although the overall unemployment rate among all new yorkers was 5.3 percent this quarter, the unemployment gap between black and white new yorkers is staggering. according to a recent report from the new school’s center for new york city affairs, between january 1 and march 31, 2023, the unemployment rate for black new yorkers rose to 12.2 percent, while the unemployment rate for white new yorkers dropped to 1.3 percent. the center for new york city affairs points out that the 1.3 percent unemployment rate for white new yorkers is the lowest it has been since 2000. “this sort of sustained divergence hasn’t happened before,” at least in this century, dr. james a. parrott, a co author of the report, told the new york times. “race based discrimination is a big part of that,” he said, noting that data shows black job seekers are often among the last to be chosen for openings. “the results of the report are startling but not surprising,” gregory anderson, president and ceo, of bridge street development corporation in bedford stuyvesant, told our time press. “all this report is saying is that our community was disproportionately and adversely impacted by the pandemic and the recovery. it’s hard for us to come back. it just speaks to the need for greater focus, efforts, funding, programming, and resources for our community.” the bridge street development corporation provides civic and economic opportunities to low to moderate income residents of central brooklyn. the nonprofit is also a provider for the new york city summer youth employment program and coordinates internships and placement for 1,500 young people. its workforce programs include osha safety training, microsoft office certification, and training collaborations with corporate sponsors. nationally, the national urban league observed the march jobs report on black unemployment record low of 5 percent with caution. “black workers are disproportionately concentrated in several employment sectors that are hardest hit by the crisis: leisure and hospitality, transportation and warehousing, and minimum wage jobs.” stated a senior economic advisor to the national urban league dr. bernard e. anderson, who is professor emeritus at the university of pennsylvania’s wharton school, in an official nul press release. “on the other hand, black workers are also well represented in health care, the sector that should see an upward spurt in employment during the crisis. at worst, the crisis might return black workers to the employment and income disparities observed during the post ww ii decades up to the 2008 09 recession.” in brooklyn, the bridge street development corporation’s workforce programs are on the frontline combating unemployment affecting black new yorkers. “we make sure that we provide the training, but who is providing the jobs when someone is qualified? stressed gregory anderson. “that’s always been the disparity.” pitkin avenue bid hosts wnyc’s street lab “reimagining the talented tenth” book review from plants to polls, from vegetables to voter registration brownsville community garden feeds the need copyright © 2024 our time press

your questions answered about the greatest city in the world. a weekday newsletter to keep you up on new york. our weekly campaign newsletter that helps busy new yorkers stay informed about the 2025 election. the new yorkest podcast. twice weekly. the fight for fair wages. how new york's landlords are keeping rentals vacant during a housing crunch. the underground world of scammers who trick people out of their homes. your questions answered about the greatest city in the world. a weekday newsletter to keep you up on new york. our weekly campaign newsletter that helps busy new yorkers stay informed about the 2025 election. the new yorkest podcast. twice weekly. the fight for fair wages. how new york's landlords are keeping rentals vacant during a housing crunch. the underground world of scammers who trick people out of their homes. the city   nyc news reporting to new yorkers get the scoop newsletter for original reporting and news you can’t miss. our nonprofit newsroom relies on readers like you to power investigations like these. join the community that powers nyc’s independent local news. when his family moved back to brooklyn from long island, cayson bryant began looking for a retail or restaurant job, leveraging his two years of experience at bj’s as a deli clerk. bryant, 21, applied to everything from bed bath and beyond to local restaurants, but for months he couldn’t find anything. “i was getting so frustrated because straight out of high school, i was used to working 40 hours a week,” bryant said. “so that period was hard, i needed to find something to do with my time and i needed to work for income. it was like a flurry of emotions.” bryant strengthened his applications with community service jobs and used a professional service to edit his resume. eight months later, after completing a technical training program through the henry street settlement, a nonprofit on the lower east side of manhattan, he found work as a part time building automation technician. but he still wants full time work. bryant is one of almost 100,000 black new yorkers struggling through a persistent and unusual unemployment crisis. a little more than a year ago, as the city’s recovery from the pandemic began to accelerate, the black unemployment rate in the city was still high at 15%. today, even as the city nears a complete recovery from the pandemic recession, the number is 12.2% compared with a white worker rate of 1.3%. it is also nearly double the hispanic rate, according to an analysis by economist james parrott at the new school. meanwhile the national black jobless rate in may slid to 4.7%, the lowest on record and the narrowest gap with white workers ever. that momentum is reflected in fast growing cities like miami where black workers are making strong gains. “certain parts of the country have been scarred more by the recessions than others. certain industries have a harder time than others, and there are geographically different concentrations,” said economist claudia sahm, who served on the white house council of economic advisors and the board of governors of the federal reserve. “what you’re seeing is the recovery is of different strength and of different length in these different parts of the country.” after tracking the trend for more than a year, economists and other experts agree on the causes for new york’s high black unemployment rate, with an increasing emphasis on how the outmigration of working age black residents from the city is changing the demographics of who continues to live in new york. while the adams administration insists it is focused on the problem, outside observers are not so sure. “i think there are a lot of initiatives and a lot of efforts spinning around one another and not getting to the root cause,” said melva miller, chief executive of the association for a better new york, a civic organization. the sources of the disparity begin with institutional racism, especially against black men, miller said. borough presidents donovan richards of queens and vanessa gibson of the bronx, both of whom are black, echoed that view in an abny report earlier this year. new york city’s delay in allowing industries employing a large number of black workers to reopen after covid shutdowns, including hospitality and retail, also plays a part. jobs that require face to face contact have not recovered to pre pandemic levels. according to a study by the new york federal reserve, the retail trade is still down 11%, with leisure and hospitality trailing 8% over the same time period. white collar jobs, like business, information and finance, have all seen gains of 2%. the latest wrinkle is the phase out of jobs that grew during the height of covid. during the pandemic there were new opportunities, as sanitation and cleaning services staffed up and the city implemented a widespread public testing program, said connie mendez, senior director of employment services at henry street settlement. get the latest stories from the city delivered to your inbox each morning. cancel anytime. “the people that were working in these community based programs   like covid testers that you saw outside in the street   were people from the community,” mendez said. increasing attention is being paid to the flight of black new yorkers, whose population has declined by 9% over two decades, according to the latest census data. it is not the lowest income workers or the unemployed who are leaving, but rather middle class families who don’t benefit from the social safety net, but still struggle to make ends meet, according to zulema blair, chair of the public administration department at medgar evers college in brooklyn who studies the city’s changing black population. “you have an apartment, you have rent, or you have a mortgage, you have transportation costs. you have a lot of different bills, so the dollar just is not stretching,” said blair. “and for low income individuals, i wouldn’t say they’re better off, but i would say that there are opportunities for them,” due to new york’s social safety net programs, she said. miller of abny sees her longtime neighbors packing up and moving out of southeast queens, known as a bastion of the black middle class. “there are the older black new yorkers who can sell their homes for a good penny and move elsewhere, and there are younger black new yorkers who went to school in the south and came back home and found it isn’t affordable in new york,” she said. southern boom the contrast with fast growing areas of the south, such as miami, could not be more striking. the florida unemployment rate for black workers is only 4.6%, only twice the overall rate, and most economists say miami is likely to be in that range. in contrast to new york, the miami metro area saw its economic recovery driven by job gains in trade, leisure and hospitality, and transportation industries, all of which reopened much earlier than in new york. lynne hernandez, the south florida regional director at the florida restaurant and lodging association, said, “in our industry, there’s always certain positions that are always in demand that continue to be in demand and certainly we’ve had a tremendous surge of new operators, domestically, internationally. we’ve just grown exponentially.” while overall wages are lower there, recent wage increases have been large enough to make living in places that are much less costly than new york more attractive. black men saw a median wage increase of 29%, or $4.90 per hour, between 2020 and 2022, according to a study done by florida international university. in new york city, earnings for black workers rose 17% between 2021 and 2022. “hot labor markets tend to lead to higher employment and higher wages for marginalized workers,” said alí bustamante, deputy director of the roosevelt institute’s worker power and economic security program and former economist at florida international university. the administration of mayor eric adams insists that it recognizes the problem and is working hard to fix it. “the opportunity of the recovery has not been shared equally and we are taking aggressive action to rebuild an equitable economy and address the high unemployment rate among black new yorkers,” adams said in a statement to the city. the mayor attends virtually all the “hiring halls” that his administration is holding, to try to fill vacant local government positions, and where the applicants are primarily people of color, a city hall spokesperson noted. in addition, the administration points to its goal to expand the summer youth employment program to 100,000 participants, about a third of whom are young black people. it also has expanded cuny’s 2x tech program to community colleges serving mostly minority students, to prepare them for opportunities in the tech sector. still, the numbers are alarming. “the difference between the unemployment rates for black non hispanic workers and white non hispanic workers is at the widest it has been in this century,” said parrott of the new school greg david is a contributor and ravitch fiscal and economics reporter at the city. he spent 35 years at crain’s new york business as editor, editorial director and a columnist. he is also the director... more by greg david the city is an independent nonprofit newsroom dedicated to serving the people of new york. questions? info@thecity.nyc sign up and get everything you need to know to be an active new yorker delivered to your inbox each morning. see more. this site is protected by recaptcha.
supported by the unemployment rate for black new yorkers rose to 12.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, while the white unemployment rate dropped to 1.3 percent, a new report says. by stefanos chen the gulf between black and white unemployment rates in new york city is now the widest it has been this century, exceeding even the largest gap during the great recession, according to a new report. in the first three months of the year, the unemployment rate for black new yorkers rose to 12.2 percent, the highest rate of any group, while the white unemployment rate dropped to 1.3 percent, the lowest it has been since 2000, according to the report, which was released thursday by the center for new york city affairs at the new school. the overall unemployment rate among new yorkers was 5.3 percent. the new york city figures are out of step with the national picture. the nationwide black unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in the first quarter of the year, and the white unemployment rate was 3.2 percent. national figures include black hispanic job seekers, whereas the new york data does not. the black and white unemployment rates in new york city have not continuously diverged for at least a year in about 25 years, and it is happening at a time when black unemployment nationwide is approaching new lows, said james a. parrott, a co author of the report and the director of economic and fiscal policy at the center. the widening gap now threatens the city’s recovery from the pandemic, potentially exacerbating income inequality in one of the world’s most expensive cities. the stark racial differences in joblessness stem from a variety of factors, including the differences in the types of jobs that black and white new yorkers work, racism in the employment process and historical differences in job qualifications that are rooted in discriminatory policies of the past, experts said.

 new york city’s unemployment rate for the first quarter of this year (january march) fell to 5.3 percent, down from 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2022. the city continues to lag national performance, with the overall u.s. unemployment rate for the latest quarter clocking in at 3.5 percent. pre pandemic unemployment rates for nyc and the nation overall were about the same at 3.7 percent. the latest private payroll employment data show new york city’s monthly average job growth for the first quarter of 2023 slowing to 6,000, down from a monthly average of 19,000 for 2022. our previously reported post covid divergences in local unemployment rates by gender have all but disappeared by q1 2023, with gendered unemployment rates of 5.3 percent for men and 5.4 percent for women. the unemployment rate for new york city workers without a four year college degree is at 7.6 percent, more than double the 3.7 rate of those with a bachelor’s degree. younger workers seem to be bearing the brunt of current unemployment, with not seasonally adjusted results for q1 2023 suggesting that 17 percent of new yorkers in the labor force between the ages of 18 and 24 are unemployed. the employment to population rate for these young workers is about 44 percent, 10 percentage points below its pre pandemic q1 2020 level. there continue to be striking disparities, and now divergence, in the unemployment rate by race and ethnicity in new york city, as the below chart shows. the city’s overall unemployment rate has been steadily declining in recent quarters (down 1.1 percent since q1 2022).