Black teen unemployment drop may not be cause for celebration
theGRIO REPORT - The unemployment rate for black teens -- youth ages 16 to 19 -- fell nearly 10 points from 43.1 percent in February to 33.8 percent in March. This was the lowest black teen unemployment rate since March 2009 when the rate was 33.5 percent...
However, the sharp decline in black teen unemployment in March may be a sign that things are turning for black teens, according to William Rodgers, Professor and Chief Economist at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.
He notes the employment population ratio for black teens has increased from 15.2 percent in March 2012 to 18.2 percent in March 2013, which suggests more black youth are getting jobs. The labor participation rate for black teens also increased slightly in March to 27.6 percent. This is in sharp contrast to the decline in unemployment among whites and black adults, which is due to a decline in labor force participation.
Rodgers says we should look at the data cautiously since black teen unemployment is nearly three times the size of overall black unemployment, currently at 13.3 percent.
Black teens are also more likely to work in retail, health care and leisure and hospitality industries, which pay lower wages.
Wenger says unemployment is at a crisis level for black teens. “These are formative years for employment and if you have kids at that age not being able to find employment what does this say about their future?” Wenger laments.
How will the sequester impact teen jobs?
The automatic spending cuts known as the sequester may also affect youth programs.
According to the non-profit, National Human Services Assembly, the $85 billion in cuts may impact youth programs such as Workforce Investment Act Youth Training Programs and Jobs Corps, to name a few.
Wenger says there is a role for government to spur job creation for youth.
He says the government should increase job training programs and target growth industries of the future such as health, education, and construction. “We need to raise awareness about how critical this is and how it will impact us in the future,” Wenger says.
Shartia Brantley is a producer and on-air reporter at CNBC. Follow Shartia on Twitter at @shartiabrantley
Editor’s Note: TheGrio contacted McDonald’s and Burger King, both big employers of teens, for a response to the jobs report. McDonald’s refused to provide any stats on their employment levels and Burger King did not respond to the request.
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