Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog,
An alternative headline, which would show the true picture, would be:
Number of Black People Not in the Labor Force Reaches an All-Time High
As with the other BLS “data”, it is amazing how when you change the rules everything looks better.
The BLS reported black unemployment at 6.8% in December, an all-time low. That’s kind of funny, considering around 40% of working age black people are not working. These statistics do not include the 2 to 3 million black men sitting in prison.
It is easy to lie with statistics.
The 6.8% rate is the lowest, but a little comparison to 2007 reveals the lie. This was before the financial crisis and the need to spin the data in a positive manner.
- The total population of working age black people went up from 27.5 million to 32.5 million, a 5 million increase. The number of employed blacks went from 16.1 million to 18.8 million, a 2.7 million increase. A critical thinking person might question how their unemployment rate could drop from 8.3% to 6.8% in this scenario.
- As usual, the BLS is peddling with a straight face that 2.3 million black Americans have it so good they voluntarily decided to leave the labor force and live off their accumulated wealth. The absurdity of this contention is beyond the pale.
- In 2007 the black participation rate was 63.7%. Today it hovers near an all-time low of 62.1%. It has fallen from 62.3% since Trump ascended to the throne.
- In 2007 the black employment to population ratio was 58.4%. Today it sits at 57.9%. Does this appear to be a positive development?
- It gets even better when you look at 1999 data. The black participation rate was 65.8%, the employment to population ratio was 60.6%, and a much more accurate unemployment rate of 8% was being calculated.
- Using the flawed and manipulated BLS methodology, black unemployment would be 9% to 10% if the participation rate was at 2007 levels. Not exactly an all-time low. Using the 1999 methodology would show an unemployment rate of 12%, almost double the bullshit number being peddled today.
More black people working is a good thing. If Trump has the balls to keep de-funding giveaways to the free shit army, they will be forced to get jobs. That would be a good thing for the black community and the country.
But, lets not pretend black unemployment is currently at all-time lows. It’s a false narrative.
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