1971 SPECIAL REPORT: "DETROIT BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT"

Detroit’s unemployment rate in the 1970s was significantly impacted by the decline of the auto industry and broader economic challenges. Specific data for the decade is sparse, but available sources indicate rates fluctuated between 7% and 16% or higher, with peaks during economic downturns.

The 1973-1975 recession, driven by oil crises and inflation, hit Detroit hard, as auto manufacturing, the city’s economic backbone, faced reduced demand and factory relocations to right-to-work states.

By the late 1970s, unemployment likely exceeded 16% in some years, with Black workers facing rates as high as 19.7% in the auto sector alone due to discriminatory practices and seniority-based layoffs.

The city’s population dropped from 1.5 million in 1970 to around 1.2 million by 1980, reflecting job losses and suburban flight, which further eroded the tax base and exacerbated economic strain. Automation and factory closures, like those at Ford’s River Rouge plant, reduced manufacturing jobs significantly, with Black workers disproportionately affected. For example, in 1970, white unemployment was around 7.1%, while Black unemployment reached 14.9%.

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