Robert Samuelson
An Upbeat Economic Story
The Washington Post
January 17, 2016

Robert Samuelson's article, An Upbeat Economic Story (2016), asserts that African American employment rates have risen, while others have surprisingly fallen. Samuelson supports his claim with statistics and claims cited from the EPI. Samuelson's purpose is to point out the shift in employment rate that has recently occurred make readers aware that they stereotypical unemployment rates are beginning to change. Based on the casual tone of this post, Samuelson is writing to a general crowd with prior understanding of what he is discussing. Samuelson uses this article as an opportunity to point out that blacks are taking steps in the right direction while whites, hispanics and Asians are regressing. This is not to say that black's employment rates have surpassed what was expected; Samuelson is simply pointing out that their numbers are refreshingly shocking.