Half a century of data shows the connection between lower unemployment and a lower nonwhite–white unemployment rate ratio is not just a recent trend: Overall unemployment and the nonwhite–white unemployment rate ratio at business cycle peaks
| Unemployment rate | Nonwhite/white unemployment ratio | |
|---|---|---|
| (1954) | 5.5 | 2.0 |
| (1959) | 5.5 | 2.7 |
| (1969) | 3.5 | 2.3 |
| (1979) | 5.9 | 2.5 |
| (1989) | 5.2 | 2.5 |
| (2000) | 4.0 | 1.9 |
| (2006) | 4.7 | 2.0 |
| (2019) | 3.6 | 1.6 |
Note: Because the BLS only measures the unemployment rate of Black workers after 1971, data years prior to 1972 reflect what the BLS labeled “nonwhite” unemployment. In the years before 1972, Black workers made up more than 90% of those labeled nonwhite.
Source: Author’s analysis of Current Population Survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS-CPS 2021).