Employment Rate
The employment rate for Black workers increased 3 points in the past 8 months, surpassing the white employment rate to reach 61%.
Employment rate (age 16+) by race/ethnicity, U.S.
Jan 2008 - Mar 2023
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Note: The employment rate is officially known as the “employment-population ratio.” Here it is calculated for the population 16 years and older. Data is seasonally adjusted.
For the first time since 1972 when this data started to be collected, the employment rate for Black workers (age 16+) has surpassed that of white workers.1 The Black employment rate surged 3 percentage points in the past 8 months, and as of March 2023, the Black employment rate (60.9%) is half a point higher than the white employment rate (60.2%).
Black adults are now more likely to be participating in the labor force than white adults. Many white men and older white women are reaching retirement or otherwise dropping out of the labor force, providing Black adults with expanding opportunities as employers search for workers.2 Black labor force participation has surged by nearly 2 percentage points compared to 2019, suggesting Black workers are less “discouraged” than before the pandemic. By March 2023, the Black unemployment rate reached a record low of 5%.3
Compared to February 2020 (immediately before the effects of the pandemic), the overall U.S. employment rate is down slightly, driven by lower employment rates for White and Hispanic Americans. Several factors may be contributing to fewer people securing employment, including lack of available and affordable child care, opioid addiction, and Long Covid which is sidelining workers regardless of age, gender, race or ethnicity (Drug overdose deaths, Long Covid).4,5,6,7
“Employment-Population Ratio - Black or African American”. FRED. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=12hHT
“Who’s missing from the post-pandemic labor force?” Bauer, Edelberg, Estep, and Hershbein. Brookings. April, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/2023/04/04/whos-missing-from-the-post-pandemic-labor-force/
“Unemployment Rate- Black or African American”. FRED. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS14000006
“Association of Post-COVID-19 Condition Symptoms and Employment Status. Perlis, Trujillo, Safarpour, et al. Jama Network. February, 2023. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2801458
“Inflation and the Labor Market”. Powell. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. November, 2022. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20221130a.htm
“Measuring Household Experiences during the Coronavirus Pandemic”. U.S. Census Bureau. January, 2023. https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/household-pulse-survey.html
“One billion days lost: How COVID-19 is hurting the US workforce”. Berdan, Charumilind, Craven, Lamb, and Singhal. McKinsey & Company. January, 2023. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/one-billion-days-lost-how-covid-19-is-hurting-the-us-workforce
