The District Chronicles

Issue date: 9/13/09 Section: Cover

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - "The world has been through the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression. The crisis, in turn, sparked a deep global recession, from which we are only now beginning to emerge," Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke recently told the Federal Reserve Bank during an economic symposium in Kansas City.

But as White America possibly begins to see some light at the end of the economic recession tunnel, the Black community is still in the dark and will remain there for at least several more years, warned several experts.

"I don't think the first phase of the recovery will help the Black community. Their situation will continue to deteriorate," predicts Dr. Roderick Harrison, a fellow with the Joint Center for Economic and Political Studies and senior research scientist at Howard University. He told The Final Call, "Large numbers of discouraged workers aren't even included in the unemployment numbers. Many people have just given up looking. Blacks and Latinos are the last hired and the first fired. I don't expect to see any substantial signs of improvement for two years or more."

This view is shared by Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research who analyzed Congressional Budget Office Data in a report, "CBO Projects More Severe Downturn."

"These latest projections show that the unemployment rate won't return to previous levels until 2014, more than six years after the collapse of the housing bubble threw the nation into recession," he said.

The analysis report looks at some of the key implications of data in the new CBO release for unemployment, underemployment, lost output, and lost investment. The data indicates:

1. Unemployment in 2010 will average 10.2 percent;

2. Twelve million people will be underemployed-only able to find part-time work-or unemployed in 2010;

3. A significant reduction in consumption through 2014;

4. A cumulative loss of investment through 2014 of $600 billion.

"If the CBO projections prove correct, millions of people will be struggling to pay their health care bills, cover their mortgage or rent payments, and meet other necessary expenses for themselves and their families," said Baker.  "This means there is a serious need for discussion of ways to lower unemployment and stimulate growth, even if it means continuing to carry large deficits until the economy begins a full recovery."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the official Black unemployment rate is 14.5 percent, which is down from 14.9 in June but still an increase from the beginning of the year when it was 12.6 percent.

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools