Page 4 The Skanner MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE EDITION September 21, 2016
MBE 2016
Special Business Edition
Black Unemployment Rate Falls to 8.1 percent in August
By Freddie Allen (NNPA
Newswire Managing
Editor)
H
FREDDIE ALLEN/AMG/NNPA
T
he unemployment
rate for Black work-
ers improved from
8.4 percent in July
to 8.1 percent in August,
according to the latest
jobs report from the La-
bor Department. Even
though the Black jobless
rate has decreased more
than a percentage point
since last year (9.4 per-
cent in August 2015), it
is still nearly double the
White unemployment
rate (4.4 percent).
Nationally, the econo-
my added 151,000 jobs in
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said that ensuring that all Americans have
the opportunity to make a decent life for themselves and their
families is the central challenge of our time. This photo was taken
during a forum on criminal justice reform in Northwest Washington,
D.C. in July 2015.
August, but the unem-
ployment rate remained
steady at 4.9 percent, the
same mark set in July and
June.
The labor force partic-
ipation rate, which mea-
sures the share of work-
ers that are employed
or looking for jobs, was
61.9 percent for Black
workers in August, an in-
crease from 61.2 percent
in July and only a slight
uptick from the Black
labor force rate last year
(61.7 percent in August
2015). The participation
rate for White workers
was 62.9 percent in Au-
gust, July and June and
has only edged up slight-
ly since last August (62.6
percent)
The
unemployment
rate for White workers
was 4.4 percent in Au-
gust, the same mark set
in August 2015, and a
slight increase from the
4.3 percent rate recorded
in July.
The
unemployment
rate for Black men over
20 years-old was 7.6 per-
cent in August, an im-
provement from 8.2 per-
cent in July. The jobless
rate for Black women
over 20 years-old was 7.1
percent in August, which
was a step forward from
the 7.3 percent rate a
month ago.
ome Forward offers housing and support for our
Contact Home Forward for more
neighbors in need. Because with the stability of a
information or to learn about speciic
home, individuals can move forward in life. Today, we are
opportunities, or for information about
more committed than ever to serving our community of
resources such as affordable training,
Multnomah County by providing hope, access, and the
technical assistance, and workforce
potential for a better tomorrow.
hiring and training programs.
To achieve our goals, however, requires the help of
our business partners. We frequently have contract
opportunities—particularly for minority, women-owned
and emerging small businesses—in the following areas:
• Professional Services
• Construction Services
• Social Services
The
unemployment
rate for White men over
20 years-old was 4.1 per-
cent in August, the same
as July. The participa-
tion rate, which was 72
percent in July showed
no improvement. The
unemployment rate for
White women was 3.9
percent in August slight-
ly higher than the 3.7
percent mark set in July.
The
unemployment
rate for Hispanic work-
ers was 5.6 percent in
August 2016 a step back
from the 5.4 percent rate
set in July.
According to The Ham-
ilton Project, an econom-
ic policy think tank at the
Brookings Institution,
the economy would need
to add 204,000 jobs every
month until May 2017 to
reach pre-recession em-
ployment levels.
In a statement about
the August jobs report,
Main Street Alliance,
a national network of
small business coali-
tions, noted that growth
in the retail and restau-
rant sectors signaled
“increased
consumer
confidence and spending
heading into the holiday
shopping season.”
The Alliance also re-
ported that Washing-
ton state led the nation
in small business job
growth
and
Seattle
topped the list of metro-
politan areas.
“With job creation and
small business success
widely attributed to con-
sumer confidence and
spending, it is hard to ig-
nore Seattle’s rising min-
imum wage and the role
boosting the wages of
the lowest-level earners
played in earning them
the top spot on the list,”
the Alliance statement
said.
The Labor Department
also reported upward
trends in several service
industries,
including
food services and drink-
ing places.
Bill Spriggs, the chief
economist for the AFL-
CIO, a national group
of 56 unions that rep-
resents more than 12
million workers, noted
gains in fast food jobs
and in health care in a se-
ries of tweets last Friday.
“Despite whining about
minimum wage increas-
es, fast food establish-
ments gain 34,000 last
month, 312,000 over the
year,” Spriggs tweeted.
He suggested the Black
unemployment rate like-
ly decreased, “for right
reasons,” because the
employment-population
ratio, which is the share
of the population that is
currently employed. also
improved from July (56.1
percent) to August (56.9
percent).