With the unemployment rate at a twenty-eight-year low of 4.5 percent, and discussion of discrimination unpopula in this post-affirmative action era, scant attention has been focused on the unemployment rate gap and the differential status of African American workers. But yes, there is still an unemployment rate gap, and it widened -- not narrowed -- in the face of economic prosperity.

Instead of the traditional 2:1 relationship between Black and White unemployment rates, in August the Black unemployment rate was 9 percent, 2.25 times the White rate of 4 percent.

Wage gaps remain as well. The Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute issued an early copy of its State of Working America this past Labor Day. According to EPI, the 1997 hourly wage for White women was $10.02, compared to $8.49 for African American women. The wage gap has worsened over time: in 1989 the White female wage was $9.84, while the Black wage was $8.76. Regardless of educational level, White wages grew from 1989 to 1997, while wages for African Americans fell.

College-educated African American women saw their wages drop 3.2 percent in the last five years, while White women who were college graduates saw their wages grow by 4.4 percent.

Among men, the situation was somewhat different, although gaps remain. White men earned $18.20 an hour, compared to the $12.92 that African American men earned. Overall, men saw their wage levels drop in the 1989-97 period, but African American men saw their wages drop more precipitously. However, among college-educated men, there was slight wage growth -- with Black men's wages growing twice as rapidly as White men's from 1989 to 1997. Nevertheless, White men earn $21.45 to the $16.53 that Black men earn. Further, wage growth among White men was far more pronounced than that of Black men in the past five years -- when White men's wages grew by 2.5 percent, and Black men's by just 0.1 percent.

While the data clearly indicate that college-educated African Americans do better in the labor market than their noncollege-educated counterparts, there is far more demand for workers in low-paying industries than for workers in higher paying jobs that require a college education.

Income data make it clear that there are limits in looking at unemployment rate data alone. It also makes it clear that the rules of "tight labor markets" do not seem to work for African American workers. If standard laws of supply and demand dictate our economic reality, then wages for African American workers, especially the college-educated, would be rising more rapidly than those for Whites. Instead, wages fell and the gap widened in the 1989-97 period.

During this period of economic expansion, high rates of Black poverty remain constant when compared to White poverty rates, even though Black poverty has declined slightly. The 1996 poverty rate of 28.4 percent is more than double the national poverty rate, and the poverty rate for Black children -- at 40 percent -- is alarming.

This continuing poverty is partly a function of the tenuous status of African American workers. One in five work in contingent employment situations, in temporary or part-time jobs. Disproportionate numbers, regardless of education, work in the low-wage service sector.

Meanwhile, there is little discussion about discrimination and racism in labor markets. Despite several highly publicized cases of corporate racism, most recently the Freddie Mac case, there are those who would suggest that the labor market works equally well for African Americans and for Whites. The fact is that while discussions of discrimination are unpopular, African American workers continue to experience both racist minutiae and structural discrimination in the labor market. The data document many of the differentials, but they only provide a skeletal framework for assessing the status of African American workers.

Scholars who study labor markets must move past discussions of low unemployment rates and new wage growth to consider the fact that despite an expanding economy, African American workers -- regardless of education -- still face many challenges. As we approach the millennium, the challenges are likely to grow, not recede.

African Americans are less likely to use technology, to speak languages other than English, and to be prepared to compete in the new economy. Economic expansion has not changed that situation, except for the few who have upgraded their skills in the face of new demands. And, if we haven't improved our position during a six-year economic expansion, what will we do in recession?

Here is the bottom line: Whether African Americans are working in academe, in the corporate sector, or in factories, there are pay and employment differences that some would rather not discuss. But all is not well for Black workers. There are still gaps to close, discrimination to fight, and a future to secure.

© Copyright 2007 by DiverseEducation.com

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