Скачать или смотреть U.S. Economy is BAD for African Americans! African American News Update

Some things never change….it seems that African Americans are bearing the brunt of the destruction of the American economy by Covid-19 and pure racism.



The White House touts the fact that U.S. unemployment record hit record lows, before Covid-19. But the unemployment rate of African Americans was almost twice the national rate.



As the Guardian is reporting, in February 2020 the overall unemployment rate was 3.5%, a 50-year-low. But here’s how it broke down: the black unemployment rate was 5.8% while the white unemployment rate was 3.1%. And the US Department of Labor, estimates that the real unemployment rate for African Americans may have reached 19% in March.



Going back to the Great recession, in 2010 at its height the overall unemployment rate was 9.6%. But for black Americans, it was 16%.



Bringing me to our slay word IMPERVIOUS for - unable to be affected by. Why is the overall economic standing of African Americans impervious to the upside of the American economy.



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We know it as last hired, first fired. We, and other people of color, are overrepresented in the lowest-paying service and domestic occupations. We’re talking taxi drivers, waitresses, orderlies and more. African Americans have the lowest median wage of any racial group in the US – and the jobs are often seen as the most expendable during an economic downturn.



And wage growth for low-wage workers, especially for black workers, has been slow. In fact, African Americans have seen the slowest wage growth compared with other groups of Americans. According to the Economic Policy Institute the African American growth rate is four times slower at certain wage distribution levels.



Low wages have a ripple effect on a family’s ability to save money and build wealth.



As a result African American families are extremely vulnerable to any economic downturn. No savings, no buffers and we lost ground against our white peers during the last recovery.



Did you know that the median net worth of black families is $17,600, compared with $171,000 for white families. That means a white family is likely to have $10 for every $1 a black family has. The percentage of black families that have a net worth at or below zero dollars is 10 points higher than the percentage of white families in the same financial situation.



That’s 19% compared with 9%, respectively. And the black homeownership rate is the lowest of any racial group in the US and has consistently been about 30% lower than the white homeownership rate over the years. And a recovering economy did not change that fact.



No money or a low paying job often means no health insurance which means many pre-existing conditions. To such an extent that research shows that poverty can cut 15 years off or your life expectancy. When it comes to Covid-19, African Americans so far make up 25% of deaths from Covid-19 but are less than 13% of the US population.