From January 2023 to March 2024, the unemployment rate for whites remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 3.1% and 3.5%. For Black individuals, the unemployment rate initially increased from 5.4% to 5.8% in November 2023 before decreasing to 5.2% in December 2023. The rate reached 6.4% in March 2024.
In contrast, the unemployment rate for Asians remains the lowest among all groups, dropping to 2.5% in March 2024. Hispanic individuals saw a modest fluctuation in their unemployment rates, staying within the 4.5% to 5% range.
One reason for the increasing unemployment rate for Black individuals, along with the decrease and stability in rates for Asians and Hispanics, is preferential hiring of Asian and Hispanic individuals over Black individuals. We attribute this to systemic biases and to growing anti-Black hiring practices due, in part, to recent anti-DEI efforts.
Specific recent incidents quantify and underscore the impact of anti-DEI measures on Black employment. For instance, the University of Texas announced significant job cuts targeting DEI, resulting in the immediate loss of 100 positions, a move replicated by educational institutions in several states.
Similarly, in the corporate sector, Meta, Tesla, DoorDash, Lyft, Home Depot, Wayfair and X reduced DEI team headcounts. Google, Zoom and Snap have also either reduced or outsourced their DEI efforts. These actions illustrate a direct correlation between the reduction of DEI roles and increased Black unemployment.
