Black Male Worker "Not Seasonally Adjusted" Jobless Rate Jumps To 18.4 Percent Under Obama & GOP House of Representatives

Between December 2010 and January 2011, the official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black male workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States jumped from 16.4 to 18.4 percent under the Democratic Obama Administration and the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives; while the “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Black female workers over 20 years-of-age was still 12.9 percent in January 2011, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Black youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age also increased from 40.7 to 46.9 percent between December 2010 and January 2011.

The total number of Black workers in the United States with jobs also dropped by 301,000 between December 2010 and January 2011; while the total number of unemployed Black workers in the United States increased from 2,715,000 to 2,931,000 during this same period, according to the “not seasonally adjusted” data. Between December 2010 and January 2011, the official “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Latino or Hispanic workers in the United States also increased from 13 to 13.2 percent.

Between December 2010 and January 2011, the official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white male workers over 20 years-of-age in the United States also increased from 8.8 to 9.2 percent; while the “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for white female workers over 20 years-of-age increased from 6.7 to 7.2 percent. The “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age also increased from 20.7 to 23.5 percent between December 2010 and January 2011.

The total number of unemployed white male workers in the United States over 20 years-of-age increased by 200,000--to 5,968,000--during this same period, according to the “not seasonally adjusted” data; while the total number of unemployed white female workers increased by 275,000—to 3,937,000—between December 2010 and January 2011.

For all U.S. male workers over 16 years-of-age in the United States, the official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate increased from 10.2 to 10.8 percent between December 2010 and January 2011; while the “not seasonally adjusted” official national unemployment rate for all U.S. workers over 16-years-of-age (which factors in the lower jobless rate for U.S. women workers) increased from 9.1 to 9.8 percent during this same period.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ February 4, 2011 press release:

“…Employment…was down in construction and in transportation and warehousing…

“In January, 2.8 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, up from 2.5 million a year earlier…These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime 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 1.0 million discouraged workers in January…Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them…

“…Employment in nondurable goods manufacturing declined by 13,000 over the month…

“In January, construction employment declined by 32,000. Within construction, there were job losses among nonresidential specialty trade contractors (-22,000) and in construction of buildings (-10,000)…

“Transportation and warehousing employment fell by 38,000 in January, reflecting a sharp decline among couriers and messengers (-45,000)…

“…Employment in temporary help services was little changed in January (-11,000)…”