Gap Between US Black and White Unemployment Drops to Record Low

The gap between the Black and White unemployment rate — a closely watched benchmark of inequality in the labor market — shrank to its narrowest level on record in March as African Americans saw outsize gains in employment.

The Black unemployment rate plunged to 5% last month, the lowest level in data going back to the early 1970s. It’s still 1.8 percentage points above the rate for White Americans — which was unchanged at 3.2% in March — but that gap is the smallest ever.

While data for individual race groups can vary from month to month, the number ...