African American unemployment rate rises August, African American men hit hard

The decline in unemployment in August 2021 masked a rise in the African American unemployment rate and African American men in particular.

The unemployment rate for African Americans rose to 8.8 percent in August from 8.2 percent in July, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show.

Among African American men, unemployment reached 9.1 percent, up from 8.4 percent in July. During the same period, the unemployment rate for White men dropped from 4.9 percent to 4.4 percent, the lowest level in six months.

The unemployment rate among African-American women was up, 7.9 percent from 7.6 percent in July. The unemployment rate for White women declined to 4.2 percent in August from 4.5 percent in July, the lowest rate in the past 6 months.

Unemployment among African American teens 16 to 19 jumped from 13.3 percent in July to 17.9 percent in August. By contrast, the unemployment rate for White teens 15 to 19 was 9.1 percent in August, up from 8.4 percent in July.

Unemployment among Latino and Hispanics overall dropped to 6.4 percent in August from 6.6 percent in July.

Unemployment among Hispanic and Latino men was 5.9 percent compared with 6.2 percent in July. The unemployment rate for Hispanic and Latino women was down 7 tenths of a percent from July to 6 percent in August.

The unemployment rate for Hispanic and Latino teens 16 to 19 climbed significantly to 15 percent from 10.8 percent in July.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to influence employment trends, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Among those not in the labor force in August, 1.5 million persons were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, little changed from July. To be counted as unemployed, by definition, individuals must be either actively looking for work or on temporary layoff.

In August, 5.6 million persons reported that they had been unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic — that is, they did not work at all or worked fewer hours at some point in the last 4 weeks due to the pandemic.

This measure is up from 5.2 million in July. Among those who reported in August that they were unable to work because of pandemic-related closures or lost business, 13.9 percent received at least some pay from their employer for the hours not worked, up from 9.1 percent in the prior month.

COVID also continued to keep many workers out of the office.

In August, 13.4 percent of employed persons teleworked because of the coronavirus pandemic. That was little changed from the prior month, according to the BLS. These numbers refer to employed persons who teleworked or worked at home for pay at some time in the last 4 weeks specifically because of the pandemic.