The gulf between Black and white unemployment rates in New York City is now the widest it has been this century, exceeding even the largest gap during the Great Recession, according to a new report.
In the first three months of the year, the unemployment rate for Black New Yorkers rose to 12.2 percent, the highest rate of any group, while the white unemployment rate dropped to 1.3 percent, the lowest it has been since 2000, according to the report, which was released Thursday by the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School. The overall unemployment rate among New Yorkers was 5.3 percent.
The New York City figures are out of step with the national picture. The nationwide Black unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in the first quarter of the year, and the white unemployment rate was 3.2 percent. National figures include Black Hispanic job seekers, whereas the New York data does not.
The Black and white unemployment rates in New York City have not continuously diverged for at least a year in about 25 years, and it is happening at a time when Black unemployment nationwide is approaching new lows, said James A. Parrott, a co-author of the report and the director of economic and fiscal policy at the center.
The widening gap now threatens the city’s recovery from the pandemic, potentially exacerbating income inequality in one of the world’s most expensive cities.
The stark racial differences in joblessness stem from a variety of factors, including the differences in the types of jobs that Black and white New Yorkers work, racism in the employment process and historical differences in job qualifications that are rooted in discriminatory policies of the past, experts said.