New York City’s Black unemployment rate has significantly decreased, according to a Friday report from the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC).
The figures show a drop from 10.7% to 7.9% between January 2022 and April 2024, marking the first time post-pandemic that the rate has dipped below 8%.
Mayor Eric Adams, on Monday, celebrated the reduced Black unemployment rate and announced a $1 million campaign to connect more New Yorkers with government jobs.
Adams said, “Not only do we want to use this advertisement, we want you to tweet it, we want you to Facebook it. We want you to Instagram it. We want folks to know that there are jobs available in the city.”
“You can’t have all of these vacancies and have a large number of New Yorkers that are unemployed. We need everything from nurses to school safety agents, to lifeguards, food service workers, you name it, the jobs are open, let’s get employed. Let’s show how we support and uplift working class people,” he continued.
Adams attributes this decline to various initiatives introduced during his tenure.
“At the start of our administration, more than 10% of our Black brothers and sisters were unemployed – and as recently as last January, Black New Yorkers were four times more likely to be unemployed than white New Yorkers,” the mayor commented.
He added, “While there’s so much work left to do, the data we’re releasing today shows that our efforts are working.”
Under the umbrella of these initiatives, the JobsNYC program stands out. It is designed to increase employment opportunities in disadvantaged communities by fostering collaborations between public and private sectors.
The city also introduced a digital portal that matches job seekers with available positions.
Mayor Adams also praised the Building Pathways for Young People initiative.
This initiative is backed by a $600 million action plan targeting young adults, which aims to mitigate employment disparities in the Black community.
Additionally, the city has expanded its Summer Rising and Summer Youth Employment Programs.
The mayor stated, “We’ve gotten Black unemployment down to its lowest point since 2019, and we’ve nearly cut the racial employment disparity in half,”
He continued, “But we’re not resting on our laurels – not until we get rid of those disparities and ensure that every New Yorker who wants a job can find one.”
Despite these advances, some criticisms have been directed at the administration’s approach to job creation, particularly concerning the adjustment of qualification requirements for civil service jobs.
Last year, the administration eliminated the bachelor’s degree requirement for certain city jobs, following a reduction in physical requirements for NYPD recruits to increase police officer hiring.
In addition to employment initiatives, the Adams administration is pushing forward legislation to bolster economic mobility among New Yorkers from economically disadvantaged communities.
A new $25 million business incubator at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is set to support minority and women-owned businesses in the health and beauty sectors.
During the unveiling, Mayor Adams emphasized, “We want to build real businesses that will have advancement and economic opportunities for women of color in general and specifically Black women.”
The April EDC report also illuminated employment across various industries, noting a downturn in natural resources and construction jobs.
However, the mayor’s Green Economy Action Plan and the LifeSci NYC initiative are projected to create substantial employment opportunities in the coming years, further supporting the city’s environmental and educational sectors.
