On February 3, 2012, Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) released an analysis showing that levels of unemployment in African-American and Latino communities had dropped significantly this January. Baker states of the January data released by the Department of Labor:
"The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent in January, bringing its drop over the last year to 0.8 percentage points. African Americans in particular saw an especially sharp decline in unemployment, with their overall rate falling by 2.2 percentage points to 13.6 percent, the lowest level since March of 2009. The unemployment rate for African American men over age 20 fell by 3.0 percentage points to 12.7 percent, the lowest level since November of 2008. The drop for women over age 20 was 1.3 percentage points to 12.6 percent. The unemployment rate for Hispanics dropped by 0.5 percentage points to 10.5 percent, the lowest since January of 2009."
Baker qualifies his analysis by stating that the DOL numbers are "erratic" and may be "partially reversed" in future monthly employment reports. Another important point that the CEPR analysis teases out of the data is that the overall unemployment rate for white workers fell by 0.1 percent, compared to much larger gains for African-American and Latino workers. None-the-less, job creation in communities of color will have to accelerate at a considerably faster rate to add enough jobs to reduce disproportionately higher levels of unemployment, and to match the entry of new works into the labor force. While the unemployment level for African-American women overage 20 fell by 1.3 percentage points to 12.6 percent, this level of unemployment is almost double of that experienced by white women over age 20, who have an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent.
A final point of consideration is that even with the employment gains in communities of color, systemic labor market segmentation is likely reducing the potential benefits of higher employment to all workers. As the Network has noted, the median household income for a female headed household in 2010 was $32,031, compared to a median income for all households of $49,445. This disparity is considerably more pronounced for African-American and Latina female headed households, as evidenced by the chart (below) from a Network policy brief. The evidenced pay inequities highlight the need for policies to reduce unemployment, and policies to provide income supports for those communities only partially benefiting from a perceived economic recovery.