skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Florida picks up the pieces after Hurricane Milton; Georgia elected officials say Hurricane Helene was a climate change wake-up call; Hosiers are getting better civic education; the Senate could flip to the GOP in November; New Mexico postal vans go electric; and Nebraska voters debate school vouchers.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil rights groups push for a voter registration deadline extension in Georgia, federal workers helping in hurricane recovery face misinformation and threats of violence, and Brown University rejects student divestment demands.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Hurricane Helene has some rural North Carolina towns worried larger communities might get more attention, mixed feelings about ranked choice voting on the Oregon ballot next month, and New York farmers earn money feeding school kids.

Florida’s Black employment rate still trails whites, despite gains

play audio
Play

Monday, September 30, 2024   

Despite recent improvements in Black unemployment rates, a new report showed Black Americans continue to face significant disparities in the labor market, and Floridians are no exception.

The report estimated in the Sunshine State alone, Black men need about 40,000 more jobs to reach parity with white men in the workforce, underscoring the racial employment gap as a costly burden for Black workers. In 2022, Black unemployment fell to 5.5%, the lowest rate in more than 50 years.

Algernon Austin, director of race and economic Justice at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said the positive statistic obscures deeper issues.

"Black America still needs about 1.4 million more people working to have the same employment rate as white America," Austin pointed out. "We still have a significant need for jobs."

The research is from the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. For Black Americans who are employed, Austin noted the data show significant wage disparities and the employment gap is costing them about $60 billion a year.

While policymakers discuss solutions such as subsidized employment programs, Austin emphasized targeted actions, such as raising the minimum wage, are crucial to addressing systemic inequities.

"This is America's historic problem," Austin asserted. "This problem begins in the enslavement of the Black population, and then Jim Crow and then the continuing discrimination in the labor market."

In the most recent figures, for August, the U-S labor market saw modest job growth. But Black unemployment remained at just over 6%, significantly higher than the 3.8% rate for white workers. The report highlighted despite lower Black unemployment levels, structural barriers -- from hiring discrimination to limited access to high-paying jobs -- continue to impede economic progress for Black Americans.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
In Florida, the deadline to register to vote was Monday, and a Florida driver's license or Department of Motor Vehicles ID card was necessary to complete the registration. (Vilkasss/Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

As Hurricane Milton makes landfall and Florida recovers from Hurricane Helene's devastation, voting rights groups have filed a legal challenge to …


Social Issues

play sound

A Detroit educator recently told a congressional committee he is "terrified" at what a second Trump term as president could bring for America's public…

Social Issues

play sound

Ho-Chunk Farms' annual Indian Corn Harvest is reviving and preserving this tradition for the northeast Nebraska tribe. Corn from a Winnebago family's …


There is no safe level of lead in a person's blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Scientists note even low lead levels have been shown to affect IQ, the ability to pay attention and academic achievement. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Clean water advocates in Maine are applauding the Environmental Protection Agency's new rule on lead pipe removals but warned drinking water in school…

Health and Wellness

play sound

When it comes to stroke care, experts say, "time is brain." Now, a program launching in South Dakota will coordinate and strengthen stroke care …

Buildings are 32% of New York's annual greenhouse gas emissions, making them the state's largest emitter. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

New York State authorized utilities to develop thermal energy network pilot programs to further its decarbonization goals. Thermal energy networks …

Environment

play sound

From power outages to burnt farmland, North Dakota is coming to grips with the impact of several large wildfires that are linked to at least two …

Environment

play sound

By Bennet Goldstein for Wisconsin Watch.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Wisconsin News Connection reporting for Wisconsin Watch-Public News Service…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021