The economic status of Black Americans

For Black workers in this economy, the last couple of years have brought gains in employment and wages.

In April, the Black unemployment rate fell to a historically low 4.7%, and the racial wage gap has shrunk slightly over the last five years. But in terms of the economy as a whole, stark disparities still exist for Black Americans.

“I’ve looked at the unemployment rates for the last 60 years,” said Algernon Austin, director for race and economic justice at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “It’s important to remember that a historically low Black unemployment rate still tends to be a high unemployment rate if you’re a white person.”

On this post-Juneteenth episode, Austin explains recent gains by Black workers, why the Federal Reserve can’t fix high Black unemployment alone, and how sputtering diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in U.S. companies could impact the Black workforce. Plus, why racial justice movements have always been economic stories.

In the News Fix: Reddit is under growing pressure to walk back changes to its business model. Plus, what does monetary policy look like abroad? And the death of Olympian Tori Bowie is a reminder of rising maternal mortality rates in the United States, particularly for women of color.

Finally, listeners call in about the New York City event every mermaid should know about and how much “Make Me Smart” they need in their lives.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “The Fed Alone Cannot Create Black Full Employment” from the Center for Economic and Policy Research
• “Black unemployment is at a record low, but tight financial conditions could change that” from Marketplace
• “The labor market recovery and pandemic relief measures lifted Black and Brown workers and families in 2021” from the Economic Policy Institute
• “The Racial Wage Gap Is Shrinking” from The New York Times
• “Businesses much quieter on social justice issues than in 2020” from Marketplace
• “Hackers threaten to leak stolen Reddit data if company doesn’t pay $4.5 million and change controversial pricing policy” from CNN Business
• “China Cuts Key Interest Rates, Hoping to Kick-Start Flagging Economy” from The New York Times 
• “Power companies spend millions to fight Maine’s proposed non-profit utility” from The Guardian
• “Tori Bowie death evokes many Black women’s own pregnancy crises” from The Washington Post
• “Thousands gather for the 2023 Coney Island Mermaid Parade” from Gothamist

We want to know what you’ve been wrong about lately. Send us your answer to the Make Me Smart question at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.