Inner City Black Unemployment: Causes and Policy Solutions

Introduction: A Growing Employment Gap

Employment for African Americans living in the inner city has long been a major problem. From 1955 to 1965, Black and white males participated in the labor force at roughly equal rates, with Black men actually somewhat more likely to be working or actively seeking work. Then, in 1965 — the year the United States experienced its largest economic expansion on record — a significant divergence between the two groups began to emerge. By the mid-1970s, a 20-point employment gap had opened between young Black men and young white men in the workforce. In all, approximately 900,000 Black men stopped working between 1965 and 1975 (Rubenstein 16).

Historical Roots of Inner-City Isolation

Based on employment, crime, and family composition data, sociologist William Julius Wilson argues that the Black inner-city poor have become increasingly isolated from white society and middle-class Black communities since the 1960s. He contends that this trend results more from factors such as suburbanization and the decline of blue-collar jobs than from continuing racial discrimination, and that from 1945 to 1960 the situation for Black Americans was relatively stable. In contrast, sociologist Thomas J. Sugrue argues that many of the racial and class divisions that characterize today's postindustrial city existed well before the 1960s and were significantly more complex than Wilson acknowledges (Kusmer 667).

Housing Discrimination and the Formative 1940s

Sugrue is among several researchers who identify the 1940s as a formative period in social and economic history. During World War II, Black Americans moved into inner cities in large numbers to meet the sudden industrial labor demands of the war effort. At that time, most Black residents ended up living in segregated ghettos, or else faced enormous obstacles and fierce white resistance when attempting to move into better neighborhoods. Blatant discrimination by real estate agencies, the practice of redlining, and the biased lending policies of financial institutions and the Federal Housing Administration all placed serious barriers on equal access to housing (Kusmer 667).

Persistent Unemployment and Policy Failures

Whether racism continues to be embedded in American society is answered differently depending on who is asked. However, the statistics are not encouraging. Despite years of effort, billions of dollars spent, and continual redevelopment and downtown revitalization projects, unemployment in inner cities remains one of America's most pressing social and economic problems. Chapple (347) notes that since the 1960s, emphasis has been placed on connecting minority inner-city residents with suburban jobs, yet evaluations of poverty-location and employment-accessibility programs show no significantly improved employment outcomes. Educated white job seekers readily search for employment across the entire metropolitan area, while disadvantaged residents instead depend on informal social networks, local contacts, and intermediaries to connect to the mainstream labor market.

Chapple (347) suggests that urban planners assist inner-city residents in overcoming restricted activity patterns by building "bridging" networks, ensuring that intermediaries are widely available and effective in responding to demand, and investing in soft-skill training while developing stronger employer relationships. These employer relationships are especially critical given the widespread failure of public education, the persistence of racial discrimination, and the inability of certain regions to compete in a global economy.

Conclusion: The Need for Structural Change

Elijah Anderson, a renowned ethnographer of the inner city, argues that poor Black males in inner-city communities are in serious trouble. Significant technological advances, a shift in economic opportunities, and the outsourcing of factory and industrial jobs around the world have hit Black men the hardest. These changes pull jobs away from inner-city populations and leave the poor with few viable options. "There are three prongs that make up the inner city economy today: low-paying service industry jobs, welfare payments, and a shifting underground economy that involves hustling, begging, and dealing," he observes. Anderson believes this problem, rooted in poverty, demands national action and increased government-provided economic opportunity for inner-city communities. "We need jobs, jobs, jobs and opportunity. We need the community to raise kids better — they are everyone's responsibility. It takes a village to raise a child, and we need to give our young people a sense of hope" (Laskowski).