Black Male Worker Jobless Rate: 17.3 Percent Under Obama

Between July and August 2010, the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black male workers over 20-years-of-age in the United States increased from 16.7 to 17.3 percent under the Democratic Obama Administration; while the unemployment rate for Black female workers over 20-years-of-age increased from 12.9 to 13.2 percent, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The official unemployment rate for all Black workers over 16-years-of-age also increased from 15.6 to 16.3 percent between July and August 2010; while the jobless rate for Black youths between 16 and 19-years-of-age jumped from 40.6 to 45.4 percent between July and August 2010.

In August 2010, the official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Latino or Hispanic workers in the United States was still 12 percent; while the official “seasonally adjusted” rate for white male workers over 20-years-of-age increased from 8.8 to 8.9 percent between July and August 2010. The “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Latino or Hispanic youths between 16 and 19-years-of-age was still 33 percent in August 2010; while the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white youths increased from 23.5 to 23.8 percent between July and August 2010.

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all U.S. male workers over 16-years-of age increased from 10.4 to 10.6 percent between July and August 2010; while the official unemployment rate for all U.S. male workers over 20-years-of-age increased from 9.7 to 9.8 percent during this same period. The official “seasonally adjusted” number of unemployed workers in the United States also increased from 14,599,000 to 14,860,000 between July and August 2010.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ September 3, 2010 press release:

“…Government employment fell, as 114,000 temporary workers hired for the decennial census completed their work…

“…In August, 42.0 percent of unemployed persons had been jobless for 27 weeks or more…

“The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) increased by 331,000 over the month to 8.9 million. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

“About 2.4 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in August…These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometimes in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

“Among the marginally attached, there were 1.1 million discouraged workers in August, an increase of 352,000 from a year earlier…Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them….

“Manufacturing employment declined by 27,000 over the month…”