Black Worker Jobless Rate Increases To 15.8 Percent Under Obama & GOP House of Representatives

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all Black workers in the United States increased from 15.5 to 15.8 percent between November and December 2011 under the Democratic Obama Administration and the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data; while the unemployment rate for Black female workers over 20 years-of-age increased from 13 to 13.9 percent during the same period. The jobless rate for Black youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age also increased from 39.6 to 42.1 percent between November and December 2011; while the unemployment rate for Black male workers over 20 years-of-age was still 15.7 percent in December 2011.

The number of officially unemployed Black workers increased by 79,000 (from 2,783,000 to 2,862,000) between November and December 2011; while the number of jobless Black female workers over 20 years-of-age increased by 91,000 (from 1,184,000 to 1,275,000) during the same period. The official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all Asian-American workers in the United States also increased from 6.5 to 6.8 percent between November and December 2011; while the number of unemployed Asian-American workers increased by 34,000 (from 480,000 to 514,000) during the same period, according to the “not seasonally adjusted” data.

Between November and December 2011, the official jobless rate for Latino or Hispanic male workers over 20 years-of-age also increased from 9.8 to 10.5 percent, according to the “not seasonally adjusted” data; while the number of unemployed Latino or Hispanic male workers over 20 years-of-age increased by 102,000 (from 1,285,000 to 1,387,000) during the same period. The official “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for all Latino or Hispanic workers was still 11 percent in December 2011; while the “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Latina or Hispanic women workers over 20 years-of-age was still 10.3 percent in that same month. The official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Latino or Hispanic youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age was also still 26.3 percent in December 2011

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age was still 20.3 percent in December 2011; while the unemployment rate for white male workers over 20 years-of-age was still 7.5 percent during that same month. In December 2011, the jobless rate for white female workers over 20 years-of-age was also still 6.8 percent; while 3,713,000 white female workers over 20 years-of-age were still unemployed in that same month.

The number of white youths between 16 and 19 years-of-age who had jobs also decreased by 15,000 (from 3,751,000 to 3,736,000) between November and December 2011, according to the “seasonally adjusted” data; while the total number of white workers in the U.S. labor force decreased by 109,000 (from 124,652,000 to 124,543,000) during the same period. And in December 2011, the official total number of unemployed U.S. workers (male and female) over 16-years-of-age was still 13,097,000; while the official jobless rate for all U.S. male workers over 16 years-of-age was stilll 8.7 percent in that same month.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January 6, 2012 press release:

“…The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 5.6 million and accounted for 42.5 percent of the unemployed...

“About 2.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in December, little different from 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 945,000 discouraged workers in December…Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them…

“…Employment in sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores fell by 10,000…Construction employment changed little in December…Employment in professional and business services changed little in December for the second month in a row…Government employment changed little in December but was down by 280,000 over the year. Job losses in 2011 occurred in local government; state government, excluding education; and the U.S. Postal Service…”