Keywords: discrimination, unemployment, economic crisis, recession, economy, older Blacks, older African Americans
Older Black workers, especially older Black men, may be at the highest risk for losing their jobs based on the latest unemployment statistics, reports BlackVoices.com. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, unemployment rates for Blacks and for workers older than 55 far surpass the national unemployment rate of 7.2 percent.
Unemployment rates for older workers tops the list at a whopping 12.8 percent, driven by a trend on the part of employers to replace older workers commanding high salaries with younger and lower-paid employees. Unemployment rates for Black workers are a close second at 12.6 percent, with the rate for Latinos at 9.7 percent and for whites at 6.9 percent.
Men are also losing their jobs at a higher rate than women; for men, the unemployment rate is 7.6 percent, compared with 6.2 percent for women. Industries that typically employ men, such as construction, have been particularly hard hit during this downturn, while fields such as education and health that tend to employ women have been more resilient.
According to BlackVoices.com, these statistics suggest that the unemployment risk to older Blacks is a major challenge for the Black community, especially since many of them are already providing assistance to children who've been hurt by the downturn. The statistics also suggest that older Black men, who tend to have a rough time when the economy goes south, could be among the hardest hit in the current recession, according to BlackVoices.com.
Click here to read the full story on BlackVoices.com.
Click here to read "Why Corporate America Won't Promote Black Women" on DiversityInc.com.
