Unemployment Focus Groups

The Black Unemployment Focus Groups Initiative aims to conduct research and gather insights into the lived experiences of Black post-incarcerated men who are not formally connected to the labor market. From October 2023 to August 2024, EAT held 10 focus groups with Black, formerly incarcerated men who are not formally connected to the labor market. The focus groups served as a platform to identify barriers and advocate for policy solutions that could address the high rates of unemployment experienced by this group.

Despite the overall rebound in labor force participation rates for most workers in 2021 following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, data indicates that Black men have not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels of labor force participation. In fact, Black men experienced even lower labor force participation rates in 2021 than in 2019. This discrepancy is particularly pronounced in Illinois, where Black men were disproportionately affected by the pandemic compared to the national average. Illinois has the lowest labor force participation rate for Black men in the country. Additionally, certain Chicago neighborhoods, such as West Garfield Park and Englewood, have even higher unemployment rates. By directly engaging with Black unemployed men from these communities through focus groups, we were able to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences and give meaningful context to these statistics.