Despite a nationwide cry for workers, businesses aren’t hiring Black men — and it’s costing the country billions of dollars, according to a new study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). 

The unemployment rate for Black men remains high: 7.3% in November, compared to 3.4% among white men looking for work, according to Labor Department data. Roughly 697,000 Black men need employment, even as the country recorded 10.6 million vacant jobs in November. 

According to the CEPR study, Black men are excluded from the workforce due to racist hiring practices, as well as being killed and imprisoned at higher rates than other groups. This doesn’t just hurt Black men and their families and communities — CEPR estimates that the lost income from racial discrimination costs the overall US economy $50 billion a year.

By focusing on closing the Black-white jobs gap, “we could add about $30 billion annually to Black communities and make a significant reduction in Black poverty,” writes Algernon Austin, the author of the CEPR study.

Read the rest of the story at this link: https://www.businessinsider.com/black-men-unemployment-economic-cost-45-million-jobs-labor-shortage-2022-1

Last modified: 02/28/2022