Perhaps it is not surprising, but it is still jaw-dropping.
In Orlando, 15.2 percent of African Americans are currently out of work, a staggering figure when compared to 9.2 percent among white Americans. And the jobless rate among blacks (and whites) is even higher, if those working part-time were counted with persons without work and seeking full time employment. In Orlando that figure, (U6) could be as high as 25 percent for African Americans.
(Nationwide, U6, was 16 percent in April 2011, nearly double the official unemployment rate of 9 percent).
Before the Great Recession began to unfold in late 2007, the black unemployment rate in Orlando was 6 percent as against 5 percent for whites, according to federal data published by the Huffington Post. But all that has changed and joblessness among African Americans has remained exceptionally high.
The disparity between African American joblessness and white Americans is also observed in other major cities, where black unemployment tends to run twice the rate for whites.
According to the Huffington Post:
In Birmingham, Ala., the unemployment rate among African Americans was 5.3 percent in 2006, the year before the recession began. Last year it was 14.5 percent, according to the EPI analysis. By contrast, in 2006, 3 percent of white Americans were unemployed and in 2010, joblessness among whites stood at just 8.3 percent.
In Miami, the rate went from 6.7 percent in 2006 to 17.2 percent last year for African Americans. For whites, the corresponding rates were, 3 percent in 2006 and 7.8 percent last year.
And in the Los Angeles area, the black unemployment rate climbed from 8.6 percent in 2006 to 19.3 percent last year. The unemployment for white Americans rose from 4 percent to 9.7 percent over the same period.
Although only 12 percent of All Americans are black, working age black Americans make up nearly 21 percent of America’s unemployed, according to federal data.
Such a contrast must challenge the long-held American belief of equal opportunity for all.
