{"id":19069,"date":"2010-02-05T10:51:34","date_gmt":"2010-02-05T15:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/?p=19069"},"modified":"2013-12-15T04:16:13","modified_gmt":"2013-12-15T09:16:13","slug":"joblessness-by-race-age-gender-and-education-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2010\/02\/05\/joblessness-by-race-age-gender-and-education-level\/","title":{"rendered":"Joblessness by Race, Age, Gender, and Education Level"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As a white woman between 25 and 44 with a college degree, I am the least likely category of person to be unemployed according to an interactive graphic detailing the joblessness rate for people according to their race, education level, age, and sex (since Jan. &#8217;07).\u00a0 It is a rather devastating look at social inequality.\u00a0 I recommend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2009\/11\/06\/business\/economy\/unemployment-lines.html\" target=\"_blank\">visiting the site<\/a> to see for yourself, but below are some screen shots with some comparisons.<\/p>\n<p>For comparison, the overall joblessness rate which, as of Sept., was at 8.6 percent:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2010\/02\/05\/joblessness-by-race-age-gender-and-education-level\/capture-83\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19090\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19090\" title=\"Capture\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture13.jpg\" width=\"558\" height=\"294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture13.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture13-500x264.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 558px) 100vw, 558px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The joblessness rate for white people (notice it is lower by 1.4 percent):<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2010\/02\/05\/joblessness-by-race-age-gender-and-education-level\/capture2-34\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19072\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19072\" title=\"Capture2\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture24.jpg\" width=\"564\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture24.jpg 967w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture24-500x264.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 564px) 100vw, 564px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The joblessness rate for black people is almost twice that of whites:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2010\/02\/05\/joblessness-by-race-age-gender-and-education-level\/capture3-19\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19073\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19073\" title=\"Capture3\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture31.jpg\" width=\"569\" height=\"297\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s add education level.<\/p>\n<p>The joblessness for whites who have not yet graduated from high school is 17.5 percent:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2010\/02\/05\/joblessness-by-race-age-gender-and-education-level\/capture7-6\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19076\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19076\" title=\"Capture7\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture71.jpg\" width=\"569\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture71.jpg 964w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture71-500x264.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 569px) 100vw, 569px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The joblessness for comparative blacks is 10 percentage points higher.\u00a0 Notice that the scale on the right hand side has changed from 0-20 percent (above) to 0-50 percent:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2010\/02\/05\/joblessness-by-race-age-gender-and-education-level\/capture8-6\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19077\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19077\" title=\"Capture8\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture81.jpg\" width=\"575\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture81.jpg 966w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture81-500x261.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If we look at young blacks (15-24 years old) who haven&#8217;t been able to complete a high school degree, the joblessness rate is 42.7 percent:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2010\/02\/05\/joblessness-by-race-age-gender-and-education-level\/capture9-4\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19078\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19078\" title=\"Capture9\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture9.jpg\" width=\"567\" height=\"286\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If we restrict the numbers to young black <em>men <\/em>without a diploma, we see a whopping joblessness rate of 48.5 percent.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2010\/02\/05\/joblessness-by-race-age-gender-and-education-level\/capture10-5\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19079\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19079\" title=\"Capture10\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture10.jpg\" width=\"565\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture10.jpg 963w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture10-500x262.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 565px) 100vw, 565px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For comparison, here is the same kid, but white (the joblessness rate is cut in half, but is still huge, even by recession standards):<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2010\/02\/05\/joblessness-by-race-age-gender-and-education-level\/capture12-7\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19087\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19087\" title=\"Capture12\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture121.jpg\" width=\"568\" height=\"305\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture121.jpg 954w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/files\/2010\/01\/Capture121-500x269.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ever wonder why young men turn to the underground economy?\u00a0 Well, this is why.\u00a0 Somewhere between 25 and 50 percent of them can&#8217;t get a job in the &#8220;above ground&#8221; economy.\u00a0 What&#8217;s a kid to do?\u00a0 Add in the rational choice of choosing work that pays more than minimum wage, and you&#8217;ve got a whole group of young people who participate in illegal activities.<\/p>\n<p>Then, of course, <a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2008\/11\/03\/on-racial-profiling\/\" target=\"_self\">we police black neighborhoods more aggressively than white neighborhoods<\/a>, convict black people more frequently than white people, and <a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2008\/08\/02\/blackwhite-disparities-in-prison-sentences\/\" target=\"_self\">send them to prison more often and with longer sentences<\/a> (see also <a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2009\/03\/02\/1-in-31\/\" target=\"_self\">this post<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>And, too add insult to injury, after all is said and done, a black person <em>without <\/em>a criminal record is less likely to get a job interview than a white person with one.\u00a0 A black person <em>with <\/em>a criminal record: his chance of getting a call back after dropping off a resume (even at a place like McDonalds) is something like five percent.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2009\/11\/14\/race-criminal-background-and-employment\/\" target=\"_self\">No I&#8217;m not joking<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&lt;sarcasm&gt;Oh, but if they just had a good attitude and learned to talk right, they too could be successful in this life.&lt;\/sarcasm&gt;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s almost too much to bear.<\/p>\n<p>Via <a href=\"http:\/\/yglesias.thinkprogress.org\/archives\/2009\/11\/the-demographics-of-unemployment.php?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+matthewyglesias+%28Matthew+Yglesias%29\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew Yglesias<\/a>.<\/p>\n<span class=\"ft_signature\"><em><a href=\"http:\/\/lisa-wade.com\/\">Lisa Wade, PhD<\/a> is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/American-Hookup-New-Culture-Campus\/dp\/039328509X?ie=UTF8&amp;*Version*=1&amp;*entries*=0\">American Hookup<\/a><em>, a book about college sexual culture; a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Gender-Interactions-Institutions-Lisa-Wade\/dp\/0393931072?ie=UTF8&amp;*Version*=1&amp;*entries*=0\">textbook about gender<\/a>; and a forthcoming introductory text: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lisa-wade.com\/intro\/\">Terrible Magnificent Sociology<\/a><em>.\u00a0You can follow her on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lisawade\">Twitter<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lisawadephd\/\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/em><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a white woman between 25 and 44 with a college degree, I am the least likely category of person to be unemployed according to an interactive graphic detailing the joblessness rate for people according to their race, education level, age, and sex (since Jan. &#8217;07).\u00a0 It is a rather devastating look at social inequality.\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[349,34,55,253,285,76],"class_list":["post-19069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ageaging","tag-education","tag-gender","tag-history","tag-raceethnicity","tag-work"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19069"}],"version-history":[{"count":42,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60491,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19069\/revisions\/60491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}