Unemployment and Joblessness

Having a good-paying job is one of the most important components of a community's economic well-being. Joblessness is very high in the American Indian community. To understand just how high, we have to distinguish between two different concepts: unemployment and joblessness.

To be defined as unemployed by the census, a person must be completely out-of-work and must be actively looking for work. The unemployment rate does not include people who want to work but are not actively looking ("discouraged workers"), either because they don't believe that jobs are available or they don't know of any jobs. The joblessness rate, on the other hand, simply indicates how many people between the ages of 16 and 64 were not employed at the time the census was taken. In addition to the "officially unemployed," it includes people who are disabled, retired, attending school full-time, being a homemaker, caring for children or elders, and discouraged workers who do not believe there are any jobs to be found.

Nearly one-fourth (24%) of all American Indian men were officially unemployed at the time the census was taken in 1 990, four times the unemployment rate for white men. In addition, 15 percent of American Indian women were unemployed. Table 6 shows that in most parts of the state, the unemployment rate fell slightly during the past decade. The exceptions were a modest increase for men living in Greater Minnesota and a sharp increase among women in the relatively small St. Paul community.

Table 6: Official Unemployment Rates for American Indian Men and Women (1980-1990)
Men	1980	1990	Change in Percentage Points
Minneapolis	28.1%	27.6%	-0.5
St. Paul	28.1%	19.5%	-8.6
Metro Suburbs	10.4%	8.5%	-1.9
Greater Minnesota	26.4%	29.7%	+3.3
Statewide Totals	24.4%	24.2%	-0.2
Women	1980	1990	Change in Percentage Points
Minneapolis	16.2%	16.0%	-0.2
St. Paul	11.3%	24.2%	+12.9
Metro Suburbs	9.1%	7.1%	-2.0
Greater Minnesota	18.7%	16.5%	-2.2
Statewide Totals	15.7%	14.9%	-0.8

But while unemployment rates are high, overall joblessness is much more extensive. When the census was taken in 1990, 49 percent of American Indian men 16-64 years old and 54 percent of American Indian women were not employed. (By comparison, 17 percent of white males between 16 and 64 years of age and 27 percent of white females were not employed when the 1990 census was taken.) Comparison of the 1980 and 1990 figures shows that there has been little change in joblessness over the past decade. In many parts of the state, the joblessness rate has gone down, while poverty has skyrocketed. (See Table 7.)

Table 7: Joblessness Rate for American Indian Men and Women (Percent of 16-64 year olds without jobs 1980-1990)
Men	1980	1990	Change in Percentage Points
Minneapolis	50.2%	52.7%	+2.5
St. Paul	46.1%	41.5%	-4.6
Metro Suburbs	35.4%	26.8%	-7.7
Greater Minnesota	50.4%	54.9%	+4.5
Statewide Totals	47.7%	48.6%	+0.9
Women	1980	1990	Change in Percentage Points
Minneapolis	62.6%	61.0%	-1.6
St. Paul	45.9%	56.9%	+11.0
Metro Suburbs	38.2%	32.7%	-5.5
Greater Minnesota	59.7%	55.8%	-3.9
Statewide Totals	56.4%	53.6%	-2.8

Next Section

The Well-Being of American Indian Children in Minnesota: Economic Conditions, 1994