Building Bridges:

Your Community & Labor Report – National Edition

Produced & Hosted by Mimi Rosenberg & Ken Nash

Presents

William Spriggs ,Ph.d, Director of Research and Public Policy, National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality

Modest Job Gains Insufficient, America Must Do More

New National Urban League Study Says Blacks Still Unemployed At Twice Rate of Whites, Despite Modest Regional Gains



Despite modest jobs gains in the first quarter, America's labor market remains stuck in the worst labor market it's been in for more than fifty years. According to a new Jobs Report by the Urban League's Institute for Opportunity and Equality, the number of jobs on America's payroll in March 2004 was 1.96 million short of the peak level reached in March 2001, and downward pressure on wages continues to make it difficult for American workers with jobs to make ends meet.

"America must do better, Although the modest job gains evidenced in the first quarter of this year are a positive sign, they are still far from sufficient. We must maintain a greater focus on active labor market policies that lead to the creation of decent jobs at livable wages."

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