Economy Alone Can’t Fix the Racial Gap in Labor: Claudia Sahm

The Black unemployment rate fell to 5% in March, the lowest since the US government began collecting the data in 1972. Also, its ratio to the White unemployment rate is one of the smallest on record. That’s progress and another sign that a strong labor market is helping people on the margins.

Progress on racial equity, however, must not be left to the ups and downs in the economy alone. Lasting changes in policies and workplaces are necessary, too, and they may need to differ some across groups of workers. For example, Black men have had higher unemployment than ...