By Karen Stokes
Since before the pandemic, Black Americans have seen improvement in numerous financial indicators, including unemployment rates, evictions, wages and wealth. The wealth gap between blacks and whites has narrowed and the proportion of business owners has increased.
“When the government took office, high unemployment and low economic output were forecast during a global pandemic that had a disproportionate impact on the black community. Instead, “President Biden has taken historic steps to pull our economy out of the deep hole, starting with the American Rescue Plan, followed by his Invest in America agenda that will grow our economy,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.
These signs are promising and set the stage for further improvements.
Data show:
Unemployment rate: The unemployment rate of Black Americans fell to its lowest level in history in 2023 and remains near record lows (5.3 percent in January 2024).
Labor force participation: For black women in their prime, the labor force participation rate has increased by about 1.5 percent. This is the highest value in two decades.
Expulsion: In 2021, eviction filings in Black neighborhoods were less than half their historical average as the government implemented a federal eviction moratorium and provided support through the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program.
Wealth: The median wealth of Black families (adjusted for inflation) increased by 60 percent from 2019 to 2022. This is a larger increase than for white families over the same period and stands in stark contrast to the experiences of black families during previous recessions and recoveries.
Wealth gap: The wealth gap between Black and white households remains very large, but progress has been made: The ratio of median Black wealth to median white wealth increased by 3 percentage points between 2019 and 2022, from 13 percent to 16 percent.
Wages: The average Black worker's real income grew 7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2023 — much faster than the average worker's growth overall.
Home ownership: From 2019 to 2023, the Black homeownership rate increased by 3.6 percentage points. During the years of the financial crisis, from 2007 to 2010, the black homeownership rate fell by 1.8 percentage points.
Poverty: Thanks to the stimulus, the additional poverty rate for Black children was halved from nearly 20 percent in 2019 to 8 percent in 2021, although it rose to nearly 18 percent after the expanded child tax credit expired in 2022.
Company ownership: The share of Black entrepreneurs rose 6.2 percentage points to 11 percent during the recession and recovery from 2019 to 2022, the highest rate in history. In 2022, Black-owned businesses employed 1.4 million people and paid over $50 billion in annual wages.
Entrepreneurship: The number of self-employed Black workers increased by almost 30 percent from 2019 to 2023.
ECIP: Through the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP), the Treasury Department has invested $1.4 billion in Black-owned and Black-majority depository institutions. It is projected that investments across the ECIP portfolio could increase lending in Black communities to nearly $80 billion over the next decade.
SSBCI: SSBCI is designed to reach underserved communities and underserved businesses, including Black-owned businesses. The program provides nearly $10 billion to improve access to capital and promote entrepreneurship.
Procurement: The Biden-Harris administration has set a goal of increasing federal government contracts with minority, small and disadvantaged businesses to 15 percent by 2025.
“These are just examples of a much longer list,” said Laura Feiveson, deputy assistant secretary
Regarding the problems at the kitchen table, Feiveson said: “Inflation has fallen sharply and the price level for eggs has fallen compared to previous levels. The fact that inflation has fallen does not mean that prices across the grocery store have fallen, and it is a strain on many households. This is not just a US problem, but a global problem. We are doing what we can to address the problem.”
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