Worsening Black Unemployment
September 30, 2011
EDWIN RUBENSTEIN writes at VDare:
From January 2009 to August 2011 both whites and blacks suffered employment declines: Black employment fell by 540,000, or 3.5% and white employment fell by 2.5 million, or 1.8%.
By contrast, more Asians and Hispanics held jobs at the end of the period than at the start of the Obama years.
Particularly hard hit: Black teenagers. Since Mr. Obama took office the number of blacks 16 to 19 years old holding jobs has declined by 162,000 – a 32.6% reduction. Over the same period teenage employment declined by 17% for whites and 15% for Hispanics.
Mass immigration is one explanation. Many of the low-skilled jobs traditionally filled by Black youths are now filled by older workers—often illegal immigrants—working at sub-minimum wages.
While these entry-level jobs didn’t pay much, they instilled a work ethic and taught skills useful in more advanced occupations.
