At the end of May 2020, the unemployment rate stands at 13.3%. This number means that from the people that are actively looking for jobs, only 133 out of 1000 do not have jobs. Although high, it is an improvement from the 14.7% unemployment rate in Apr 2020, with an increase of +3,839,000 in jobs (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.a.htm
https://www.bls.gov/cps/). Since we are in a unique situation nowadays, It is important to note that the May 2019 unemployment rate was 3.6%.
Looking back at the increase in employment in May, when we look at the unemployment rate by race, the story looks different. Whites’ unemployment rate does decrease, going from 14.2% in April to 12.4% in May. In contrast, Blacks’ unemployment rate increases slightly from 16.7% to 16.8% and Asians, going from 14.5% to 15.0%.
Moreover, if we look for employment by education groups, employment is also lower among less-educated groups. Precisely, the current unemployment rate for those with less than High school education is 19.9% (5.4% in May 2019), with High School diploma is 15.3% (3.6% in May 2019), more than High School unemployment rate is 13.3% (2.8%) and with a college degree is 7.4% (2.1%). (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htm).
Finally, even when the unemployment rate was low, the number of people in poverty was still high, around 12% of the US population in 2017-2018. ( https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2019/demo/income-poverty/p60-266.html)
Please answer the following:
Why do certain groups of people work less than others and what connection might this have with poverty?
Is it an example of the “flawed character” hypothesis, or are other factors driving these disparities that might make certain people harder to employ or less likely to seek out work?
Your answer should be extensive and persuasive, as well as polite and respectful