Employment Rate

Economy & Inflation
Written By Alysha Rashid

Since reaching a record high in March 2023, the employment rate for Black adults has fallen 2 points, but remains closer to the white employment rate than pre-Covid.

Employment rate (age 16+) by race/ethnicity, U.S.

Jan 2008 - June 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.

The Black employment rate fell to 58.9% in June after reaching a peak of 60.9% in March, but remains closer to the white employment rate than it was pre-Covid. In fact, Black adults are now more likely to be participating in the labor force (62.6%) than white adults (62.3%).1,2 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.3

Compared to February 2020 (immediately before the effects of the pandemic), the overall U.S. employment rate is down slightly. 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).4,5,6,7,8

  1. “Labor Force Participation Rate - White”. FRED. July, 2023. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300003

  2. “Labor Force Participation Rate - Black or African American”. FRED. July, 2023. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300006

  3. “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/

  4. “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 

  5. “Inflation and the Labor Market”. Powell. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. November, 2022. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20221130a.htm

  6. “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

  7. “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

  8. “The economic impact of the opioid epidemic”. Paris, Rowley, and Frank. Brookings. April, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-economic-impact-of-the-opioid-epidemic/

Alysha Rashid
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