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The Bureau of the Census reports that the long standing trend of Blacks moving from the South to the North and West reversed in the 1970s.

1983 (Aug 21)

The Bureau of the Census reported that "the traditional migration of Blacks from the South to the urban center of the North and West ended" in the 1970s. "Between 1975 and 1980, about 415,000 Black moved to the South, whereas (in the more recent period) only about 220,000 left, thereby reversing the longstanding Black exodus from the South.” In 1980, 53 percent of the nation's Blacks lived in the South—the same proportion as in 1970, yet approximately 60 percent of the nation's Black population lived in central cities—an increase of approximately 13 percent. The new demographic data was contained in a report entitled "America's Black Population: 1970 to 1982." It was based on data from the Census Bureau, the U.S. Labor Department, and other governmental agencies. The Census Bureau's report also noted that: 1) The number of Blacks in the civilian labor force increased by 2.7 million or 31 percent between 1972 and 1982, and the number of employed Blacks grew by 1.4 million, or 19 percent. However, the number of Blacks who were unemployed rose 140 percent, from 900,000 in 1972 to 2.1 million in 1982. The unemployment rate for Blacks continued at more than double the rate for Whites. In 1972, when the unemployment rate for Whites was 5 percent, the unemployment rate for Blacks was 10.3 percent. In 1982, the unemployment rates for both Blacks and Whites were the highest for any period since the second World War. 2) The median income for Black married couples increased 6.9 percent between 1971 and 1981. Such families, however, made up only 55 percent of all Black families in 1982, compared with 64 percent in 1972. 3) For all Black families, median income, after adjustment for inflation, declined by 8.3 percent since 1971, with a 5.2 percent drop occurring between 1980 and 1981. This decline was attributed to the increase in the number of single-parent Black families headed by females. In 1982, these families totaled 2.6 million—up 32 percent from 1972. Female-headed households made up 41 percent of all Black families and 70 percent of all poor Black families. 4) The poverty rate for Blacks remained steady at 34 percent, though there were one million more poor Blacks in 1980 than in 1970—nine million compared with eight million.