Friday's jobs report was a disappointing, but it also contained a truly heartbreaking statistic. Black teen unemployment is a shocking 41.6%.
In July last year, the unemployment was considerably lower, at 36%.
That almost half of black teens who want to work can't find jobs is a
stain on Obama's economic policies.
This isn't a numbers trick. This isn't a rate based on the whole
black teen population in the country. This is the proportion on the
black teen population that is looking for work but can't find a job.
Just in March, the number was 8-points lower at 33%. The white teen
unemployment rate is half the black rate, although a still high 20%.
The heartbreaking thing is that these teens haven't given up hope and
left the job market, something that has artificially lowered the
overall unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is based on those who
want a job and are trying to find one.
In recent months, President Obama and national Democrats have
increased calls to raise the minimum wage or impose "living wages" on
certain companies in urban areas. Minimum wage jobs, however, are often
"first jobs," providing that critical first rung on the jobs' ladder.
Indeed, more than two-thirds of minimum wage employees receive a raise
within the first year on the job.
You can't get a raise, however, without first having a job. Our
economic policies are abandoning a generation and threatening to create a
permanent underclass. It is shamefu
