African American History Month: BLS Spotlight on Statistics

Percent distribution of black or African American employed persons and total employed persons, 16 years and over, by industry, 2009
	Percent distribution
Industry	Black or African American	Total (all races)
Education and health services	29.7	22.7
Wholesale and retail trade	12.7	14.1
Professional and business services	8.9	10.7
Leisure and hospitality	8.8	9.1
Manufacturing	8.4	10.2
Transportation and utilities	7.6	5.2
Public administration	7.1	4.9
Financial activities	5.9	6.9
Other services	4.5	5.0
Construction	3.4	6.9
Information	2.4	2.3
Agriculture and related industries	0.4	1.5
Mining	0.2	0.5

Unemployment rates, total and black or African American, 16 years and over, 1972-2009, annual averages, not seasonally adjusted
Year	Black or African American, 16 years and over	Total, 16 years and over
1972	10.4	5.6
1973	9.4	4.9
1974	10.5	5.6
1975	14.8	8.5
1976	14.0	7.7
1977	14.0	7.1
1978	12.8	6.1
1979	12.3	5.8
1980	14.3	7.1
1981	15.6	7.6
1982	18.9	9.7
1983	19.5	9.6
1984	15.9	7.5
1985	15.1	7.2
1986	14.5	7.0
1987	13.0	6.2
1988	11.7	5.5
1989	11.4	5.3
1990	11.4	5.6
1991	12.5	6.8
1992	14.2	7.5
1993	13.0	6.9
1994	11.5	6.1
1995	10.4	5.6
1996	10.5	5.4
1997	10.0	4.9
1998	8.9	4.5
1999	8.0	4.2
2000	7.6	4.0
2001	8.6	4.7
2002	10.2	5.8
2003	10.8	6.0
2004	10.4	5.5
2005	10.0	5.1
2006	8.9	4.6
2007	8.3	4.6
2008	10.1	5.8
2009	14.8	9.3

Educational attainment of blacks or African Americans in the labor force, 25 years and over (percent distribution)
	Less than a high school diploma	High school graduates, no college	Some college or associate degree	Bachelor's degree and higher
1992	18	40	26	16
2009	9	34	32	24

Median usual weekly earnings of black or African American full-time wage and salary workers 25 years and over by educational attainment, 2009
	Dollars
Bachelor´s degree and higher	921
Some college or associate degree	608
High school graduates, no college	533
Less than a high school diploma	413

Unemployment rates of blacks or African Americans age 25 years and over by educational attainment, 1999-2009
Year	Less than a high school diploma	High school graduates, no college	Some college or associate degree	Bachelor's degree or higher
1999	11.6	6.3	4.4	2.7
2000	10.7	6.4	4.0	2.5
2001	11.8	7.4	5.0	2.7
2002	13.3	8.8	6.7	4.2
2003	13.9	9.3	7.9	4.5
2004	15.5	8.7	7.6	4.3
2005	14.4	8.5	6.9	3.5
2006	12.8	8.0	6.2	2.8
2007	12.0	7.3	5.5	3.0
2008	14.5	9.3	7.4	4.0
2009	21.3	14.0	11.5	7.3

Average time use of employed persons and blacks or African Americans 18 years and over on work days, 2008
	Employed Blacks or African Americans	All employed persons
Work & work-related activities	8.4	8.3
Sleeping	7.6	7.8
Leisure & sports activities	3.4	3.2
Grooming	0.9	0.7
Eating & drinking	0.9	1.1
Household activities	0.7	1.0
Other activities	0.6	0.5
Caring for & helping others	0.6	0.6
Purchasing goods & services	0.6	0.5
Organizational, civic, & religious activities	0.3	0.2

Spotlight on Statistics