Black youth left out of strong jobs growth in July BLS report

African-American youth unemployment remained high at 20.3 percent in the July Bureau of Labor Statistics employment situation report.   Although the overall figures showed a half million new jobs, the number of Black women and Black youth unemployed rose in July with no job growth overall among African-Americans.

Down But Not Out: State of Black Business, 19th edition notes that employment among African-Americans fell in the past year in many industry sectors, including hospitals and pharmaceuticals.

For Black youth, participation has fallen from 37 percent to 29.1 percent from July 2021 to July 2022, which indicates that investments in higher education and Black-owned businesses which can provide entry-level jobs are called for.

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