The following analysis is provided to Pennsylvania reporters as part of the Keystone Research Center’s ongoing tracking of the health of the Pennsylvania economy. The Keystone Research Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that promotes a more prosperous and equitable Pennsylvania economy.

HARRISBURG, PA (July 20, 2009) —While Pennsylvania’s overall unemployment rate exceeded 8% in the second quarter of 2008, the percentage of African-Americans seeking work is much higher.
According to estimates by the Keystone Research Center, the unemployment rate for African-Americans in Pennsylvania has nearly doubled since the recession began in late 2007 – from 6.9% to 12.9%. The state unemployment rate in the second quarter was 8.1%, up from 4.5% at the start of the recession in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Nationally, job searchers are finding it increasingly difficult to secure work. Data from May suggest there were 5.7 job seekers per available job, and as of June, 29% of the unemployed had been so for more than six months. The job market remains extremely weak making it difficult for unemployed workers to find jobs. Because unemployment insurance only replaces a portion of lost income, many of these workers and their families are struggling to get by.

In Pennsylvania, 17,880 Pennsylvania workers exhausted their unemployment benefits over the weekend. These workers are eligible for a temporary seven-week extension of benefits paid for by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but the Pennsylvania Senate has so far failed to act on legislation to make that happen.

The state House of Representatives passed House Bill 1770 by a vote of 197 to 1 on July 7, adding the temporary seven-week extension of unemployment compensation benefits. At least 29 other states have adopted similar legislation.

The Senate’s failure to extend benefits to these workers would force them and their families to cut back further on spending, impacting other Commonwealth businesses that provide them goods and services. That would likely spark a new round of job layoffs in the state.