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Spotlight on Statistics

February 2009

African American History Month

Chart Data

Percent distribution of black or African American labor force and total labor force by age, 2008
	Percent distribution
	Black or African American	Total (all races)
16-24 years	15.6	14.3
25-34 years	24.4	21.6
35-44 years	24.3	22.7
45-54 years	22.2	23.3
55-64 years	10.8	14.0
65 years & over	2.7	4.0

Black or African American employed persons and total employed persons, 16 years and over, by industry, 2008
	Percent distribution
	Black or African American	Total (all races)
Education and health services	27.9	21.6
Wholesale and retail trade	12.9	14.2
Manufacturing	9.5	10.9
Professional and business services	9.1	10.7
Leisure and hospitality	8.8	8.8
Transportation and utilities	7.7	5.3
Public administration	6.5	4.7
Financial activities	6.3	7.0
Other services	4.3	4.8
Construction	3.8	7.5
Information	2.6	2.4
Agriculture and related industries	0.3	1.5
Mining	0.3	0.6

Educational attainment of blacks or African Americans in the labor force, 25 to 64 years, March 1970 and March 2008 (percent distribution)
Year	Less than a high school diploma	High school graduates, no college	Some college or associate degree	Bachelor�s degree and higher
1970	56	28	8	8
2008	10	35	31	23
NOTE: Data for 1970 refer to the black and other races group; data for 2008 refer to persons who are black or African American only. Since 1992, data on educational attainment have been based on the "highest diploma or degree received," rather than the "number of years of school completed." Percents may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Median usual weekly earnings of black or African American full-time wage and salary workers 25 years and over by educational attainment, 2008
	Dollars
Bachelor�s degree and higher	912
Some college or associate degree	608
High school graduates, no college	515
Less than a high school diploma	408

Unemployment rates of blacks or African Americans age 25 years and over by educational attainment, 1998-2008 (percent)
Year	Less than a high school diploma	High school graduates, no college	Some college or associate degree	Bachelor's degree or higher
1998	11.6	7.4	5.1	2.9
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

Average time use of employed blacks or African Americans and all employed persons, 18 years and over, on workdays, 2007
	Average hours per workday
	Employed Blacks or African Americans	All employed persons
Work & work-related activities	8.6	8.3
Sleeping	7.4	7.8
Leisure & sports activities	3.3	3.2
Grooming	1.0	0.8
Eating & drinking	0.9	1.1
Household activities	0.8	1.1
Other activities	0.6	0.4
Purchasing goods & services	0.6	0.5
Caring for & helping others	0.5	0.6
Organizational, civic, & religious activities	0.3	0.2

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