Comptroller's Report Finds Unemployment Highest in Communities of Color, Among Young People and in the Outer Boroughs

New York City unemployment increased from 8.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, to 9.7 percent in the same quarter of 2011, according to a report release on Wednesday by City Comptroller John C. Liu.

The Comptroller’s Bureau of Fiscal and Budget Studies analyzed raw data in the Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by the Census Bureau and highlighted several trends, including pronounced inequities in communities of color, among young people and in the outer boroughs.

The quarterly data showed that the City ended 2011 with unemployment in the double digits for young people, African Americans and Hispanics – with the rate nearly twice as high in the Bronx as in Manhattan.

Unemployment recorded in the fourth quarter of 2011 was highest for African Americans at 13.6 percent. For Hispanics, unemployment was 10.0 percent, compared with 7.8 percent for whites and 7.4 percent for Asians and others.

However, although African Americans recorded the highest unemployment of all groups, they were the only group with a recorded increase in employment – 1.3 percent – from 2010 to 2011.

Unemployment was also highest amongst 16- to 24-year-olds for the third year in a row, rising in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 16.5 percent, compared to 11.0 percent in Q4 2010.

“We must level the playing field and close these employment gaps, because they undermine the health of entire neighborhoods and threaten our economic future,” said Liu.

The City should design fiscal policy around programs that expand opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises, which have a proven track records of creating jobs in neighborhoods that need them the most, he said.

To see a full spreadsheet of the unemployment breakdown go here.

Age

Most strikingly, unemployment rose for 16-24 year olds to 16.5 percent.

4Q09

4Q10

4Q11

16-24 years old

22.4%

11.9%

16.5%

25-54 years old

9.3%

8.7%

9.8%

55 years and older

5.7%

6.0%

5.2%

Source: NYC Comptroller’s Office from CPS microdata

Race

The unemployment rate for African Americans was 13.6 percent and for Hispanics it was 10.0 percent, compared with 7.8 percent for whites and 7.4 percent for Asians and others.

4Q09

4Q10

4Q11

African American

14.6%

14.9%

13.6%

White

7.5%

5.7%

7.8%

Hispanic

11.9%

9.8%

10.0%

Asian and other

6.0%

3.9%

7.4%

Source: NYC Comptroller’s Office from CPS microdata

Borough

By borough, the unemployment rate in the Bronx was 12.6 percent, nearly twice as high as Manhattan’s 6.4 percent.

4Q09

4Q10

4Q11

Bronx

13.0%

14.8%

12.6%

Brooklyn

10.5%

8.2%

11.6%

Manhattan

6.5%

6.2%

6.4%

Queens

10.6%

8.3%

8.4%

Staten Island

12.2%

6.1%

12.4%

Source: NYC Comptroller’s Office from CPS microdata

Education

Unemployment was also in the double digits for New Yorkers without a college diploma.

4Q09

4Q10

4Q11

No HS diploma

12.5%

13.7%

10.4%

HS, some college

12.1%

9.4%

12.3%

BA or more

7.1%

6.0%

6.7%

Source: NYC Comptroller’s Office from CPS microdata

*The data estimates are computed directly from the US Census Bureau Current Population Survey, and may not correspond with estimates released by the State Department of Labor.