In the United States, the African American community has the highest unemployment rates, currently sitting at 17.1%. Even though African Americans only make up 13.4 % of the total population within the states. When compared to the unemployment rates of Caucasians who account for 76.3% of the population, who sits at 10.8%. In theory, it would make sense that the minority group has a lower rate than the majority. However, in the United States, this fails to be the case. The gap in unemployment rates can be linked to the unfair unemployment process; such as discrimination.
Discrimination is a concept that stretches back decades, still having an impact on modern-day society. This concept relates directly back to racism, as it is a way racism prevails in society. Discrimination can be seen in the job process for African Americans, who struggle in the job market simply because of the color of their skin. Typically, in a job application, there is a section that refers to race/ethnicity, which is made available to employers. Certain employers may choose to only to hire a specific race and exclude others.
In certain cases, an African American may be more qualified for the job than their counterpart, so for them to not acquire even an interview draws questions. Questions that can be brought up is how employers review and decide applications. We see that there is no nationwide guideline, so this is up to the employer’s own discretion. Leading to the possibility of bias being used to determine new employees. Hopefully, in the future, these practices are adopted and equality in the workplace becomes more heavily enforced.