Milestone: The unemployment rate for Black Americans has reached a new low

Milestone

‍New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the unemployment rate for Black workers in the US fell to a record low in April, dropping to 4.7% — the first time the figure has fallen below 5% in recorded history.

That follows the wider American unemployment rate, similarly sitting at a multi-decade low of 3.4%. It also means that the gap between the Black and white unemployment rate narrowed to 1.6%, the smallest it’s been since records began in the 1970s. The new lows have been underpinned by some exiting the labor force, however, according to Bloomberg analysis.

Indeed, while the new sub-5 figure is down a whopping 12.1% from its peak back in May 2020, the labor force participation rate also slipped by more than a percentage point from the month before. Indeed, 63% of Black Americans were currently employed or looking for work in April, compared to 64.1% the month before.

‍Go deeper: explore the BLS’s latest job report here.