Employment Rates

The employment rate for Black adults increased 2.1 points in the first half of 2022. Overall employment has inched up half a point. Employment rates for men and for women increased about half a point in the first half of 2022.

Employment rate by race/ethnicity, U.S.

Jan 2008 - June 2022

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 employment rate for Black adults aged 16+ increased 2.1 points to 58.6% between December 2021 and June 2022, while overall employment increased 0.4 points to 59.9%. The overall employment rate remains 1.3 points below its pre-pandemic (Feb 2020) level of 61.2%.

The economy has grown substantially in 2022, but inflation and rising interest rates are now slowing consumer spending, and a small number of employers have announced layoffs. Notably, the retail sector registered losses of nearly 28,000 jobs between March and June, and Black and Hispanic workers are overrepresented in the retail sector.^1,2

Many families are already struggling with food and housing insecurity (Likelihood of Eviction or Foreclosure, Food Insecurity). If the economy begins to fall into recession and employment rates decrease this summer, more robust government benefits may be needed to keep families out of poverty.³

Employment rate by sex, U.S.

Jan 2008 - June 2022

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Note: The employment rate is officially known as the “employment-population ratio.” Here it is calculated for the population 20 years and older. Data is seasonally adjusted.

The employment rate for women increased 0.5 points to 56.2% between December 2021 and June 2022, while the rate for men increased 0.4 points to 67.8%. Employment rates for women remain about 12 points below those for men.

Child care and elder care remain significant impediments to women’s ability to return to work. In June, over 1 million parents left a job, another 520,000 lost a job, and 1.1 million didn’t look for a job because of child care disruptions (Child Care Disruptions). Mothers of children under 6 have been most likely to consider leaving their job or cutting back on hours.⁴

The summer months are a time when many women leave the labor force to care for their children during school closures. Close to 1 million women could leave the workforce temporarily over the summer, contributing to a continued churn in the labor market.⁵

1. “All Employees, Retail Trade”. FRED. July, 2022. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USTRADE

2. “Retail Jobs Among the Most Common Occupations”. Anderson. U.S. Census Bureau. September, 2020. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/09/profile-of-the-retail-workforce.html#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20there%20were%209.8,workers%20with%203.1%20million%20workers. 

3. “Three questions for the labor market’s near future”. Henry-Nickie, Barr, and Seo. Brookings. June, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2022/06/17/three-questions-for-the-labor-markets-near-future/

4. "Mothers are being left behind in the economic recovery from COVID-19”. Bauer. Brookings. May, 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/05/06/mothers-are-being-left-behind-in-the-economic-recovery-from-covid-19/

5. “The Summer Drop in Female Employment”. Price, Wasserman. June, 2022. https://www.brendanmichaelprice.com/research/working/PriceWasserman-SummerDrop.pdf