Sharpton calls out high unemployment rate for Black New Yorkers in wake of pandemic

EAST ELMHURST, Queens (WABC) — Reverend Al Sharpton is calling out the high unemployment rate for Black New Yorkers. Sharpton plans to demand more contracts for minority-owned businesses at a news conference Thursday in East Elmhurst, Queens, one of the hardest hit areas by the pandemic. The city’s Black unemployment rate is currently 9.4%, that’s more than five points higher than white unemployment. A report last year from the New School Center for NYC Affairs sounded the alarm on the growing disparity. The report said for the first time this century the gap between Black and white unemployment rates in New York City is widening. Mayor Eric Adams has recently been promoting a record $6 billion in contracts granted to minority and women-owned businesses. He is scheduled to make an equity and economic development announcement Thursday morning at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.