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FEBRUARY 2010

African Americans and the Economy

In the midst of the recession, Americans have experienced varied financial woes. African Americans are no exception, but there are troubling disparities with regard to unemployment, poverty and overall wealth when compared to white Americans. Read below to learn more.

Unemployment Rates

  • African Americans have the highest national unemployment rate of any racial or ethnic group.

  • As of December 2009, 16.2 percent of African Americans are unemployed, compared to 9 percent of whites.

  • From December 2008 to December 2009, the unemployment rate of African Americans grew by 4.3 percent, compared to 2.4 percent for whites.

  • In at least two states, Michigan and Ohio, the African American unemployment rate is expected to exceed 20 percent in 2010.

  • College-educated African American men are still twice as likely as to be unemployed as their college-educated white counterparts.

  • In 2009, the unemployment rate for college-educated African American men was 8.4 percent, compared to 4.4 percent for college-educated whites.

Poverty

  • African Americans are 2.9 times as likely to live in poverty as whites. African American children are 3.3 times as likely.

  • In 2008, the African American poverty rate was 24.6 percent, compared to 8.6 for whites.

  • More than one third of African American children (34.7 percent) lived in poverty, compared to 10.6 percent of white children.

Income, Wealth, and Assets

  • Recent studies have shown African Americans average less hourly wages in jobs not requiring a college education. In 2007, the hourly wage of whites was $13.08, compared to African Americans with $10.23.

  • Wages and salaries lost from 2008 to 2012 will total $142 billion for African Americans, out of a total $1 trillion loss for the entire nation.

  • Blacks have 10 cents of net worth for every dollar of white net worth.

  • Whites are 34 more times likely to have a median net wealth over 3.5 million than African Americans.

  • Over half of the mortgages to African Americans in recent years were high-cost subprime loans.  More than 60 percent of those loans went to borrowers whose credit ratings qualified them for lower-cost prime loans.

 

Disclaimer: Although we try to use the most credible sources, we are not responsible for any incorrect findings.

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