Oct. 14, 2004 – A new study shows that black workers holding the same job for more than three years suffered higher rates of job loss than other workers during the recent recession.
According to the nonprofit Center for Economic and Policy Research, "long-tenured" black workers suffered a job loss rate of 7.3 percent, compared to 5.6 percent for their white counterparts between 2001 to 2003. From 1997-1999, the job loss gap between long-tenured black and white workers was just 0.2 percent.
"The recent sharp rise in the loss of long-tenure jobs is a direct assault on the black middle class," John Schmitt, the report's author, said in a press release. "For most workers, a long period with the same employer brings the earnings, benefits, and job security that are the building blocks of a middle-class standard of living."
