African-American middle class gains reversed

By David Markiewicz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Persistent joblessness among African Americans, and its effect on home ownership and wealth building, is raising concerns about about the future of a black middle class that had grown to be a potent economic force in cities like Atlanta.

Unemployment in metro Atlanta, which the state Labor Department said Thursday ticked up a tenth of a point to 10.4 percent in August, cuts across all demographic groups. But the jobless rate in metro Atlanta, in Georgia, and across the U.S. is far worse for African-Americans.

Unemployment among black teens aged 16-19 in metro Atlanta was a staggering 56 percent last year. For black men it was 20 percent. Those figures roughly doubled the rates for white youths and men.

Last month, the national unemployment rate for blacks was 16.7 percent. That compared to 8 percent for whites, 11.3 percent for Hispanics and Latinos and 7.1 percent for Asians.

Some observers say joblessness is hitting blacks and the black middle class hardest, at least in demographic terms. In addition to high unemployment, blacks as a group have suffered more from the decline in the nation’s housing market and in their overall wealth.

In Friday’s newspaper, the AJC takes a deep look at joblessness within the African-American community. It’s a story you’ll get only by picking up a copy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution or logging on to the paper’s iPad app. Subscribe today.