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PDFAccording to a recent study by the University of Wisconsin, the black male unemployment rate in the nation’s largest metro areas — places like Milwaukee, Detroit, and Buffalo — is more than 50%.
From the study:
A fact rich in symbolism and a telling indicator of the social and economic crisis facing Milwaukee: more Milwaukee African American males were admitted to Wisconsin correctional facilities in an average year in the 2000s than were employed at the end of the decade as production workers in factories in the city of Milwaukee.
From the Journal Sentinel:
It is disheartening to see that African-American male employment in Milwaukee is among the lowest in the nation. In 1970, when our city was near its peak in industrial manufacturing, the study data shows Milwaukee had similar rates of employment for white and black men. Today, however, our city has a massive employment gap, with white men enjoying an employment rate of 77%, while the rate for black men is barely hitting 45%, according to the study.
In my opinion, the black male employment issue is the most pressing economic and social crisis in Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and its negative trend is affecting our families and our entire state. The near absence of black male entrepreneurs and businesses (and jobs they’d create, income earned and taxes paid, and other missed opportunities) in our city and state is staggering.
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