New Report Paints Bleak Picture of Unemployment for Young Black Men in Chicago

"Unemployed" by James Lee licensed under CC BY 2.0
Unemployed” by James Lee licensed under CC BY 2.0

Source: Chicago Tribune

According to a new youth unemployment study commissioned by the Alternative Schools Network, “Nearly half of young black men in Chicago are neither in school nor working,” reports the Chicago Tribune.

In 2014, 47 percent of black men between the ages of 20 and 24 living in Chicago were neither in school nor working, a higher proportion than the 44 percent in the state of Illinois, 31 percent in Los Angeles and New York City, and the national average of 32 percent.

These statistics highlight a strong connection between unemployment and Chicago’s racially segregated neighborhoods. The study found the highest concentrations of youth unemployment in the South and West sides of Chicago in predominantly black neighborhoods and the lowest concentrations in the predominantly white neighborhoods of Chicago’s North and Northwest sides.

As a youth organizer from Fathers Who Care aptly summarized, “Young people can’t be what they can’t see.”

Read full story at: Chicago Tribune

Justice & Poverty, News
Justice & Poverty, News