Worst labor market for black professionals in 25 years.College-educated African Americans African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. are having a hard time advancing their careers in the worst turnaround in the labor market labor market A place where labor is exchanged for wages; an LM is defined by geography, education and technical expertise, occupation, licensure or certification requirements, and job experience in 25 years. Since the economic downturn of 2001, black professionals haven't been able to hold on to highly smiled jobs as they had done in previous recessions, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the National Urban League's quarterly Jobs Report. Released 34 months after the recession started, the report notes that African Americans have a higher unemployment rate than whites and remain out of work longer despite the recovery. As of December 2003, the unemployment rate for college-educated whites was 2.6% and the rate for their African American counterparts was 4.1%. By comparison, 34 months into the 1990 recession, the rates for white and African American college graduates were 3.0% and 3.9% respectively. Statistics show the black unemployment rate still soars above the 7.6% level of February 2001. The overall U.S. unemployment rate was 5.7% in December 2003, but the black unemployment rate was 10.3%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) A research agency of the U.S. Department of Labor; it compiles statistics on hours of work, average hourly earnings, employment and unemployment, consumer prices and many other variables. reports the general jobless rate decreased to 5.6% in January 2004, while the black unemployment rate increased to 10.5%. Minorities represent a higher share of the long-term unemployed: 29.5% African American versus 21.1% white. Moreover, white households saw only a 1.7% drop in their median household income The median household income is commonly used to provide data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more. in the first two years of the recession, while blacks lost 3.0%. Hoping to tackle the issues of unemployment and job creation, NUL See null. plans to convene a summit. "We want to come up with some real solutions. Why has this recession disproportionately affected African American workers, and what can we do about it? We've got to work to fix this problem," says President Marc H. Morial. "We have a jobs crisis in America's cities today and in America's black communities," NUL's call for a job summit is a useful approach, says Dr. Margaret Simms, senior vice president for programs at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies ("Joint Center"), headquartered in Washington, DC, is a national, nonprofit research and public policy institution or think tank. in Washington, D.C., and member of the BLACK ENTERPRISE Board of Economists. From campaigns for president and Congress to contests for state and local offices, jobs will be a key issue in this fall's elections, she adds. [GRAPHICS OMITTED] |
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