Urban League report cites blacks' underemployment
While unemployment has been a major impediment to African-Americans' economic progress, underemployment is a bigger obstacle for them than it is for whites or Hispanics, the National Urban League says in its new State of Black America report.
The annual report, called "One Nation Underemployed: Jobs Rebuild America," notes African-Americans are twice as likely as whites to be unemployed. The jobless rate for blacks was 12 percent in February, compared to 5.8 percent for whites.
The underemployment rate for African-American workers was 20.5 percent, the report said, 18.4 percent for Hispanic workers and 11.8 percent for white workers. Underemployment is defined as those who are jobless or working part-time jobs but desiring full-time work.
"The post-recession economy is leaving too many people behind," National Urban League president Marc Morial said.
The league is pushing for several economic measures, including an increase in the minimum wage, an issue being debated in Congress. Democrats backed by President Barack Obama want to force election-year votes on gradually increasing today's minimum to $10.10 by 2016, an effort that seems likely to fail in Congress. Republicans generally oppose the proposal.
"More must be done in post-recession America to try to help people and help communities close these gaps," Morial said.
The Urban League derives its numbers from an "equality index" based on data from federal agencies such as the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With full equality with whites in economics, health, education, social justice and civic engagement set at 100 percent, the league said this year's equality index for blacks stands at 71.2 percent, up from last year's 71.0 percent. However, the economic portion of the index dropped from 56.3 percent to 55.5 percent.
The equality index for Hispanics improved to 75.8 percent, compared to 74.6 percent last year, while the Hispanic economics index declined from 60.8 percent to 60.6 percent.-- AP
