Coronavirus and the racial unemployment gap

Dean Baker calls attention to the unusual fact that the unemployment rate actually rose more for white workers than for black workers in April. For decades, the unemployment rate for African Americans has tended to be about twice that for whites, with the differential typically widening during recessions so as to preserve or even expand the proportional gap.

The experience during the current debacle has been a little different. Here are some selected numbers, comparing January with April, stratified by race and gender (BLS data, civilian non-institutional population, seasonally adjusted).

Over this period, the percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate was pretty similar for blacks and whites, with the gap increasing by an extra point for black men and by about a point less for black women. For both men and women, the ratio of black to white unemployment rates fell quite a bit, defying the typical 2:1 pattern. The pattern is similar for the ratio of non-employed to population, which takes account of labor-force "dropouts."

Among the three racial groups here, the most dramatic increase in the unemployment rate was for Latino workers. Given the importance of food-service and related jobs for Hispanic workers, this may not be too surprising. Up next: breakdown by educational attainment.