{"id":153952,"date":"2024-02-02T12:52:10","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T17:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/?p=153952"},"modified":"2024-02-02T13:10:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T18:10:02","slug":"strong-black-economy-still-mired-in-inequality-race-jobs-and-the-economy-update-for-january-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/strong-black-economy-still-mired-in-inequality-race-jobs-and-the-economy-update-for-january-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"A Strong Black Economy Still Mired In Inequality: Race, Jobs And The Economy Update For January 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

African Americans continue to see greater gains in wages, employment and wealth than at any point in recent history. While the labor market appears strong \u2013 with unemployment rates below the 4% threshold defined as \u201cfull employment\u201d for the past two years \u2013 many workers still report that rent and other high-cost items make it difficult to build wealth. This strong labor market has shrunk the historic racial disparities in topline jobless rates. The African American unemployment rate is now roughly 1.5 times that of Whites, down from a long-term trend of roughly doubling the White unemployment rate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly jobs report<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>ADP National Employment Report<\/span><\/a> provide a deep look into employment and income. The January BLS report has the unemployment rate at 3.4% for White workers, 5.3% for Black workers, 2.9% for Asian workers and 5.0% for Hispanic workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this edition of our <\/span>Race, Jobs and the Economy series<\/span><\/a>, we overview the most recent BLS jobs report alongside some of the latest figures on Black labor including wages, union membership and wealth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Analysis of Topline Figures in January BLS Report<\/b><\/p>\n

The economy added 353,000 jobs in January according to the BLS, more than double the consensus prediction of 162,000 new jobs created in the month. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7% for the third month in a row despite predictions it would rise to 3.8%.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jobs & Sectoral Trends<\/b><\/p>\n

The industries with the largest employment gains were professional and business services (+74,000), healthcare (+70,000), and retail trade (+45,000). The high-paying professional and business services industry has been a major pillar of the labor market\u2019s overall recovery from pandemic-driven lows. January\u2019s boom in the sector is an outlier in raw-numbers terms, but more broadly reflects a steady trend: The industry averaged 14,000 new jobs each month throughout 2023, significantly lower than last month’s jobs gains. By contrast, the manufacturing sector\u2019s strong January runs counter to recent trends. Manufacturing added 23,000 jobs in January after experiencing little net job growth in 2023. The mining sector, meanwhile, shrunk by 5,000 jobs in January.<\/span><\/p>\n