More Black Americans are Professionals in the U.S. labor market than ever before. Forty-four percent of employed African Americans have attained an Associate Degree or more. Thirty-two percent have a Bachelor’s degree or more.
In 1950 only 2 percent of African Americans worked as professionals in the labor market.
In 1970 less than five percent had college degrees. By 1980 the number of African Americans in Professional roles tripled to 6 percent and approximately 8.1 percent of black Americans had attained a Bachelor’s degree or more. In the current era (2024-2025) African American professionals in the labor market are estimated at 10.2 to 10.6 percent of all those employed. That is 10.2 percent (7 million) of all those employed in Management and Professional Specialty & Related. Approximately, another 2 million employed in other occupational groups for example Healthcare support occupations or Protective service occupations. Please see AFL-CIO estimates in their 2024 publication, “The Professional and Technical Workforce.” (See link below).This sums to 9 million African Americans working as professionals in the labor market. This is a noteworthy achievement because in the labor market not free of racial bias.This should be cautiously celebrated because are not employed in such roles. While all work is valuable to the economy black And Hispanic Americans hold too large a share of jobs that pay less well. This is the struggle ahead – -providing encouragement and support so college students can persist in college and leave with degrees in hand. Here are some estimates of black participation in various Professional occupation.
(Please note that some estiments are described as a range)
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Lawyers, 6 percent
Clinical and Counseling Psychology, 4-6 percent
College Professors, 5-6 percent
Architect- Engineer, 6 percent
Dentists 3.9 percent
Surgeons, 6.2 percent
Physical Therapists, 3.3 to 6 percent
Veterinarian, 1.6 percent
Chiropractor, 2.4 percent
CEO, 5.6 percent
Sales Managers, 5 percent
Nurse Practitioner, 11.1 percent
Life, Physical and Social Scientists, 8.3 percent
https://www.dpeaflcio.org/factsheets/the-professional-and-technical-workforce-by-the-numbers