Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 17 March 2000 — Page 3

FRIDAY, MARCH 17,2000

THE INDIANAPOUS RECORDER

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Who gets it? The economy and African Americans

ttrt By WILLIAM E. SPRIGGS

Director,

Research and Public Policy National Urban League Inc.

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to ; Economics is the study of who •jngets what. One of the important /• c“whats” is who gets a job; since -almost Americans need a job for the pitincome to pay rent and buy food. o«if The first Friday of each month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis])fj«tics, a branch of Secretary Alexis .(KiHerman’s Department of Labor, .^releases the Employment Situation /i jor the previous month. So, this ,'^past Friday, the unemployment 715,numbers for February were re.ojjeased. The unemployment rate for Af^^(rican Americans reported by the ,;^ureau of Labor Statistics de^ftjcreased to 7.8 percent in February, _ r ;from 8.2 percent in January. This ^was part of good news all around .„*,<for African Americans in the reirfiP° rt - The share of African Americans h s .in the labor force, those who were "^employed, or actively looking for , work, continued to climb and set \ new records. After setting a record in January, African-American la- • r bor force participation climbed 0) -from 66.4-percent to 66.9 percent. i r ,And again, the surge was led by r ^African-American men whose la- ,> bor force participation climbed to ,^,7 4 -2 percent. African-American women continue to have higher , M participation in the labor force than -white women. !( 1 ( But now, African-American J ', men are slowly pulling even with , the higher labor force participation .,rate of white men. So, overall, the

races, state legislative districts and school board districts. They are also used to decide where federal dollars go for many federal programs. Those decisions, based on the direct use of the data, affect everyone for I0 years, But, the numbers affect us indirectly too. An undercount in the census affects the way that polls and national surveys use their information to tell us what the survey results means. The problem with the census undercount is that it is not equal for all groups. Disproportionately, minorities, and in particular, women and chi Idren are undercounted. So, the share of African Americans in the population is greater than reported in the census. That means for instance, that television shows, and newspapers that African Americans watch and read, have a larger market share than marketing researchers show, since they must use the census as a baseline to decide how many people their samples truly repre-

COMMENTARY

sent. It also creates problems forgetting labor force numbers. The monthly Current Population Survey must use “weights” to decide how to relate the sample of households that are surveyed to the nation's population. In large part, the “weights” come from information about the population in the census taken every 10 years. The disproportionate undercount of African Americans affects the weights given to the sample of African Americans in the Current Population Survey. So, indirectly, the undercount distorts the monthly unemployment figures. And, the unemployment figures also decide how, and where, federal dollars will be spent. Just make sure you are counted, and tell others how important it is that you respond to the census.

FORM OF OPPORFORliy

i - * I & ! IT » ' < ■•d c * Census 2000 m an opportunity j :' -

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gathered in can help deter-

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Census would arrive soon. Though the census is conducted every I0

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, years, it forms the basis for almost 0 j ^all national data in the years be- ( J ,tween each census. That means it is t( ’ ( the basis for the way the monthly ^Current Population Survey isdone, ^ and the way the numbers from that monthly survey are computed. It is the monthly Current Population Survey that gi ves us the labor force ^numbers reported each month. Most national African-Ameri-

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can organizations have signed a ^partnership agreement with the ‘Census Bureau to try and make Census 2000 more accurate than 'ever. And, for the first time, the Census Bureau has paid for adver-

tisements to make sure that every- ' one knows how important thecen-

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sus is.

. The data collected are used by state and local governments todraw ^.political districts for city council

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.66.9 percent labor force participation rate of African Americans is

not significantly different from the .' (<i 67.8 percent labor force participa- - In tion rate for whites. This is a clear signal that African Americans be(I( lieve this economic expansion and . j, labor market are unusually good. Another key number is the share ( ,of African Americans who are

'Employed.

population ratio seta new record at b(iJ 61.7 percent just a littlf? pver its j. ^previous record of 61.0 percent set ’Jn January 1999. So, a little more ^ than three of every five African ( . Americans over age 16 was em- .^ ployed during part of the month of 7 February. Again, this was because ^ of higher labor force participation ' and employment for African-

American men.

This month, the Census Bureau .‘mailed to every household a notice that Census forms for the 2000

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MARCH 19

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ties are needed Where new businesses and factories are built. And ft’s Census data that helps determine far fair share of billions of dollars in government

So, when your Census form arrives, fill it in and mail it back. It s a form ot opportunity for our community. Census 2000. Thin is our future. Don’t leave it blank.

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Leaders open doors,...

A Icailcr is strong enough to reach

their goals and compassionate

enough to help those who follow,

achieve theirs. I hat’s why Lours

partners with organizations like

the National Newspaper Publishers

Association (NNPA) and the

National Association For Fqual

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Education, to ensure tliat tomorrow’s

leaders develop and maximize their

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Indianapolis Museum ol \rt

1200 West 38th Street 317 923 1331 www.ima-.irt.org

1 Wout Arthiside Out

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L. DON B Srmor Vice n p«ti3titjn.s A

317.920.2660 Daily 10-5, Th. 10-8.30, Sun. 12-5. Closed Mon and major holidays

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