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The Facts About African American Unemployment Demand Targeted Employment Policies
Most Americans are aware of the fact that the African American unemployment rate is consistently twice as high as the white unemployment rate, but the full extent of this gap is better understood when you consider these striking facts. In all states where the African American population is large enough to reliably measure black unemployment (half of the states in the nation), the African American unemployment rate exceeds 10%, and in four of those states and the District of Columbia, the rate exceeds 20%. White unemployment exceeds 10% in only two states and Latino unemployment exceeds 10% in fourteen states — neither whites nor Latinos have a rate higher than 20% in any state where they are a significant portion of the population. The highest rate of unemployment experienced by whites during the recession was 9.3%. If the African American unemployment rate in 2011 had been 9.3% (instead of 15.8%), an additional 1.2 million African Americans would have been employed in 2011.
These striking facts are more than just numbers. They represent real people who lack access to real opportunities. More than that, these facts call for a targeted, integrated, multi-generational approach to employment and education policy like those proposed in NUL's 12-pt Plan for Putting Urban America Back to Work and the 8-pt Plan to Educate, Employ and Empower. Take the time to learn more about NUL's job creation plans at www.iamempowered.com and join the online jobs chat with economist, Dr. Valerie Rawlston Wilson, on Friday, March 9, 2012 from 2-3pm EST.
President’s Release of FY2013 Budget
The Obama administration has recently released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2013, requesting a total of $3.8 trillion in total spending. This is the first budget proposed since last summer’s agreement to raise the debt ceiling, which committed the federal government to reducing spending by $1 trillion over the next decade. The budget begins to strike the correct balance of prioritizing needed investments in domestic discretionary programs such as jobs and education, while also working toward eliminating the nation’s debt.
The President’s budget request marks the first step of the year-long budget process in which Congress will also work to advance certain budget priorities. Just as last year, the House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI-1) is expected to prepare an alternative budget, similar to the House approved H.R. 1 bill that was opposed by the National Urban League.
The National Urban League Policy Institute has reviewed the President’s FY2013 budget and provided a detailed look at the federal funding streams of greatest importance to the National Urban League and affiliate programs. Please see an overview of each of the empowerment goal areas and a funding chart.
NULPI Introduces 8-Point Employment and Education Plan at Congressional Black Associates Policy Breakfast
Jacqueline Ayers and Garrick T. Davis of NULPI introduced the NUL 8-Point Employment and Education Plan at the February, 2011 policy breakfast of the Congressional Black Associates in Washington, DC. Ayers and Davis discussed ways in which the many congressional staffers in attendance might assist in making the reform policies within 8-Point Plan a reality. Tactics and strategies mentioned included Congressional member support of 8-Point Plan recommendations and NUL participation in related Congressional briefings. The February breakfast serves as the inaugural event in what promises to be a productive working relationship between the members of the Congressional Black Associates and NULPI in 2012, and beyond.
NULPI Advocates on Behalf of Low-to-Moderate Income Communities in White House Discussions of President's Rental Housing Program
Garrick T. Davis of the National Urban League Policy Institute was joined this week by representatives of NAACP and other housing policy groups at a White House closed-door discussion of President Obama's Real Estate Owned Property to Rental ('REO-to-Rental') program proposal. 'REO-to-Rental' is the affordable rental housing component of President's Obama's plan to restore America's housing market to health. Closely mirroring the NUL 12-Point Jobs Plan recommendation of Urban Homesteading, the Obama Administration's 'REO-to-Rental' program would return currently vacant bank-owned properties to the housing market for purchase as affordable rental housing in our hardest hit communities. Garrick Davis and others representing the civil rights community warned White House and Treasury officials to safeguard against the unintended raiding of housing wealth from communities of color by wealthy private investors. Suggested measures included enabling community-based organizations such as NUL to play an active role in the purchase and distribution of property, as well as the aggressive monitoring of fair housing practices.
NULPI Addresses a Bi-Partisan Gathering of the House Manufacturing Caucus on the Need for Manufacturing Jobs and Training Initiatives in Urban Communities
Garrick T. Davis of the National Urban League Policy Institute joined other members of the National Manufacturing Renaissance Campaign (NMRC) in a Capitol Hill briefing of the House Manufacturing Caucus at the US Capitol on February 8. As part of a panel including comments from U.S. Representatives Dan Manzullo (R-IL 16th) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL 9th), Davis addressed the gathering of House members and staff on the natural relationship between urban communities and high-paying manufacturing jobs of the sort endorsed by President Obama in his January 24 State of the Union address. The National Urban League is an active member of the NMRC, a partnering of business interests, school districts, labor unions, government and communities to support advanced manufacturing for the purposes of economic development.
