Why Has Black Unemployment Risen (Yes, Risen!) In The “Bush Boom”?

Recent employment reports show steady, if undramatic, increases in hiring. Some Administration pundits talk, without irony, about a “Bush Boom.”

The “jobless recovery” may be over for some — most notably Hispanics. But the story is very different for Black Americans. Blacks are faring worse than they did at a similar stage in the previous recovery at the end of Bush I’s term. Amazingly, thirteen quarters into the “Bush Boom”, Black unemployment has risen.

Here are the comparative results for the first 13 quarters of this economic recovery as compiled by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI): [“African Americans in the current recovery,“ April 6, 2005.]

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Arguably the most racist policy in this country for the past quarter century has been immigration policy. The onslaught of poorly educated, mainly Hispanic immigrants has stymied good faith efforts of African Americans to climb up the economic ladder.

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