Submitted by Michael Lucci via IllinoisPolicy.org,
New Bureau of Labor Statistics data show Illinois’ black residents have an unemployment rate of 12.7 percent, more than double the state’s overall rate.
Illinois had the nation’s highest black unemployment rate in 2016, according to annual unemployment data released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS. Only 51 percent of black adults reported having some form of work in Illinois, highlighting an economic crisis that far too few political leaders are talking about. The BLS data support the conclusions in recent quarterly reports from the Economic Policy Institute, which have pointed to Illinois as having the nation’s highest black unemployment.
Illinois’ weak job creation has a significant effect on the black community, especially due to manufacturing job losses in the Chicago area and a lack of construction job opportunities. Illinois’ black unemployment rate was 12.7 percent in 2016, compared with 6.7 percent for Latinos and 5 percent for whites.
Illinois’ 12.7 percent black jobless rate is the highest in the U.S., tied with Nevada. However, Illinois’ black population is seven times as large as Nevada’s, meaning Illinois’ crisis is playing out on a much larger scale. Illinois’ neighboring states achieved much lower black jobless rates than Illinois in 2016. (BLS does not calculate a black unemployment rate for Iowa, however, because the state’s black population does not constitute a sample large enough to be included in the BLS survey.)
The weighted average black jobless rate for all other states is 8.1 percent, and the weighted average among Illinois’ border states is 8.9 percent.
Perhaps equally telling is Illinois’ black employment rate – the percentage of black adults who are engaged in some form of work. Illinois’ black employment rate is only 51.2 percent, compared with 63.2 percent for whites and 65 percent for Latinos. Illinois’ 51.2 percent black employment rate means that just over half of Illinois’ adult black residents have some form of work. Michigan is the only state with a lower black employment rate than Illinois.
The weighted average black employment rate for other states is 56.8 percent, and the weighted average among Illinois’ border states is 59.2 percent.
Black employment in Illinois fell by 18,000 people from 2015 to 2016, and the number of black workers in Illinois’ labor force shrank by 16,000. Despite the shrinking workforce, the black unemployment rate increased to 12.7 percent from 12.2 percent year over year.
The number of black people working in Illinois has been in decline since the turn of the century. There were 77,000 fewer blacks working in Illinois in 2016 compared with 2000, a shocking 10 percent decline in total employment. By comparison, Illinois’ combined white and Latino employment is actually up by 272,000 since 2000, according to the BLS’ annual average data.
Similarly, the recovery in black employment over the Great Recession era lags that of the rest of the state. Black employment is still down 5.1 percent compared with its pre-recession high.