Economic Report of the President

Chart 2-1Distribution of Unemployment by Age and SexADULT MALES25 AND OVER25.2% ADULT MALES25 AND OVER34.5%ADULT FEMALES,25 AND OVER24.6%1978 1982NOTE.—DATA RELATE TO PERSONS 16 YEARS AND OVER.SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.A pattern that appears in Chart 2-2 is the cyclical sensitivity of unemploymentamong those who provide the primary financial supportfor a family. The share of unemployment among husbands, wives,and family heads in families without a working spouse rose from 20percent in 1978 to 24 percent in 1982. Because unemployment undoubtedlyimposes its greatest hardship when it hits a worker uponwhom others depend for their sole support, this increase is particularlydistressing.A continuing tragedy in both good and bad times is the very highrates of unemployment of blacks and other minorities. This group accountsfor a share of unemployment that is greatly disproportionateto its share of the labor force. While blacks and other minoritiescomprised 13 percent of the labor force in 1982, they comprised approximately23 percent of the unemployed. Chart 2-3, shows that therecent recession raised the unemployment rate of blacks and otherminorities proportionally less than that of the rest of the population.However, black and other minority unemployment rates increasedsharply during the recession and continue to greatly exceed those ofthe entire population. The unemployment rate for black and otherminority adult males was 16.2 percent in 1982, compared to 7.8 percentfor white males. For black and other minority teenagers the unemploymentrate was 43.9 percent, compared to 20.4 percent forwhite teenagers.32