Recession hitting minority job rolls

Have you been wondering how minorities are faring during this recession? What solutions does the federal stimulus package offer?

What do you think?

Chris Casey, a reporter for the Greeley Tribune has a finger on the pulse of the unemployment rate and what's in store for minorities...read on...

Recession hitting minority job rolls
By Chris Casey
Greeley Tribune
www.greeleytribune.com

Minorities rank disproportionately high on U.S. unemployment rolls, and without innovative programs to connect them to jobs, the gap could worsen under the massive federal stimulus package, according to a national Latino advocacy group.

Much of the $787 billion package’s job-training and educational investments are for existing programs, and those don’t always reach Latinos or other people with limited English-speaking skills, said Catherine Singley, a policy analyst with the National Council of La Raza’s Employment and Economic Policy Project. Job training targeted directly at these populations, including English as a Second Language classes, should be an emphasis in the stimulus package, she said.

“We want to make sure all workers are prepared to compete for worker opportunities, and make sure the disparity blacks and Latinos face in the labor market [is] not exacerbated by the new stimulus package,” Singley said.

Since the recession began, unemployment among minorities has outpaced the rest of the population, according to a study by the Center for American Progress, a labor and civil rights-oriented think tank.

Representatives from the National Council of La Raza and the Center for American Progress hosted a national teleconference this week called “Latinos and the Economy.”

Some unemployment figures, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, of the American Progress report:

» 9.7 percent — unemployment rate for Latinos in January 2009, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from December 2007 and the highest level since 1995;

» 12.6 percent — unemployment rate for blacks in January, an increase of 3.7 percentage points since December 2007 and the highest level since 1994;

» 6.9 percent — unemployment rate for Anglos, an increase of 2.5 percentage points since December 2007 and the highest level since 1983.

The report also highlighted earning gaps between groups:

» $535 — median weekly earnings of Latinos in fourth-quarter 2008.

» $593 — median weekly earnings of black workers in the period.

» $748 — median weekly earnings of Anglo workers in the period.

Singley said the Council of La Raza also is concerned that in the rush to get stimulus money out “we might sacrifice the chance to get new stakeholders to the table.” The package, she said, is a broad-reaching investment that might not reach the communities most in need.

She also said that Latinos accounted for 54 percent of the new labor participants in the U.S. labor market in 2008. “So if the success of the package is slowing the growth of unemployment, what happens when you add new workers? … That hasn’t been addressed.”

John Brick, spokesman for the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform, said he views language skills as a “small barrier” to unemployed Americans of all races seeking work.

“If you’re talking about stimulus package meat and potatoes — putting jobs on the table — I think most Americans, and those in the state of Colorado, have adequate language skills to get these jobs,” he said.

He said the alliance is disappointed that E-Verify, a program that checks workers’ immigration status, wasn’t required to be used by businesses receiving funds in the stimulus bill.

“I frame it, and CAIR frames this, more as a class problem rather than a race problem,” Brick said. “I think you’ll find there is a class of business that’s looking for cheap labor, has looked for cheap labor and anything along the way will look to bring in labor for the cheapest cost.”

Will Straw, associate director for economic policy at the Center for American Progress, said the stimulus package directs $4 billion for job training to help people who’ve lost jobs get retrained for new work options. He noted that the stimulus also boosts money for Pell Grants to help low-income people attend college and improve their marketability in the high-skill-oriented economy.

Singley, of the Council of La Raza, said the infrastructure piece of the stimulus — $150 billion will be directed to highways, bridges and other building projects — is where Latino workers can see the biggest employment boost.

“Our concern is where the jobs are going to be created and the types of skills required to link up to the new jobs,” she said. “Our emphasis is on targeted training to those with multiple barriers to get jobs, including a language barrier disparity.”

Chris Casey is a reporter for the Greeley Tribune in Greeley, Colorado. He can be reached at ccasey@greeleytrib.com.