Economics

Black Unemployment Rate Rises While White Joblessness Falls

  • The gap between black and white unemployment had narrowed
  • Majority of black population is not working right now
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Black unemployment climbed to the highest in more than a decade in May as the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on the U.S. labor market.

The 16.8% rate for black Americans topped that for white Americans, which ticked down to 12.4% last month, according to a report published Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The highest rate was among Latino workers, 17.6% of whom reported being unemployed.