The African American racial group has the highest rate of unemployment in the United States, continuing a longstanding pattern whereby Blacks always find themselves at the periphery of the American labor force. A recently released report by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that Black or African American racial group had an unemployment rate of 11.3% in 2014, while Whites had an unemployment rate of only 5.3% (Labor force characteristics, 2015).
Among teenagers, the Black or African American racial group has the highest unemployment rate, at 33%, while the unemployment rates for Hispanic, White, and Asian teenagers stand at 22.5%, 17.3%, and 14.0% respectively (Labor force characteristics, 2015). Some of the reasons that have made the Black or African American racial group to have the highest rate of unemployment include discrimination in the private sector, lack of good education opportunities, high levels of crime within the African American neighborhoods, and resiliency in sticking to the frustrating experience of job search.
References
Labor force characteristics by race and ethnicity, 2014. (2015). Web.
Labor force statistics from the current population survey. (2016). Web.
Rampell, C. (2011). Older workers without jobs face longest time out of work. The New York Times. Web.