How Many in Black America really are Unemployed?
As I conjured up those fond memories of the never-ending lectures on, “The Keynesian Theory of Macroeconomics,” – or the difference between the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the Gross National Product (GNP); I recalled a lecture that indelibly has stayed on my mind for close to two decades. The topic de la journée was indeed the most significant measure of a city, region, or a nation’s growth (Unemployment); and to go further the measure is quite indicative of the economic health of a nation tantamount to per capita income.
With all of that said, the primary tenet of the measure doesn’t alert Black America as a whole to the crisis that is prevalent in our community in reference to employment. I think I speak for a multitude when I ask, “How Many in Black America really are Unemployed?” In my humble opinion the unreliable data given to the public most certainly can’t begin to measure the economic growth or health of the Black community, because like any other ethnic group we have many sub-groups, and also sub-sets to those sub-groups that are not included in the overall unemployment analysis.
To examine this even further so the reader get’s a better picture of what I’m trying to convey, one doesn’t need to be versed in the jargon of statistical or regression analysis. The concept of the “Unemployment Rate,” is quite archaic and yet most Americans (Black or White) don’t know how to technically arrive at the measure. It is simply the total numbers of Unemployed Workers divided by the Labor Force. So easy a Fifth Grader could do it, Right? Wrong; you must know what constitutes being classified as Unemployed, and that’s where the confusion sets in for unreliable data.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics an Unemployed Person is classified as only – if one doesn’t have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks (remember that) – and currently is available for work (all are core criteria for consideration for Unemployment Benefits). The Labor Force on the other hand is defined as – the civilian non-institutional (i.e. incarcerated) population 16 years old and over to our present full retirement age of 65. Keeps those two populations in mind as you read.
Think for a moment of our population and the present breakdown by the Huffington Post as of November 1, 2010. The White Unemployment rate is 8.7% +/-, the Hispanic Unemployment Rate is 12.4% +/-, and the Black Unemployment rate is 17% +/-. Does the data for Black’s really denote a true picture of our crisis? I beg to differ. When you take into consideration the criteria to be classified Unemployed, “I would bet all of the tea in China,” that the negative data increases exponentially for those that don’t fall into those criterion.
As I mentioned previously the many sub-groups that are prevalent in our community behooves me to think that our Unemployment Rate is most certainly upwards of 40% +/-. As for the – if one doesn’t have a job – but has been actively looking for work the prior 4 weeks – and is currently available for work. What comes to my mind are millions of unemployed, able bodied Black Americans who either have given up on their job search more than 4 weeks ago, or for a lack of better words, “Don’t want to get off their duffs, and work!”
How do we account for them? Don’t get me wrong there are individuals amongst us that are putting in every effort to secure sustainable traditional employment, but there is a large population between the ages of 16 – 40 that have succumbed to the nefarious street crimes that pervade our cities (i.e. narcotics, prostitution, gangs), or to the poverty pimps of the Department of Health and Human Services; who by the way don’t provide the impetus to able bodied individuals to seek employment by virtue of their reliable monthly handouts (i.e. food stamps, dependent child care, and housing vouchers). You tally up those sub-groups and you can count on, now and later, an ever increasing Black Unemployment Rate. This is not my platform to advocate draconian measures to rid our communities of crime, nor am I against social services for those in need. But this is an opportunity for our community to wake up and instill in one another the pride and virtues of hard work that comes with obtaining the, “American Dream.” As the old adage goes, “Anything easy to obtain, is not worth having.”
Instead of the mantra, “By any means Necessary.” Let’s reclaim our history of being an intellectually competent and innovative people who strive for excellence in all we do – via education. Our resourcefulness of yesteryear has waned and thus we are in our current dilemma. If we don’t come to this realization sooner rather than later, we will undoubtedly just remain a negative statistic!
