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Black,
Hispanic
joblessness
expected
to
spiral
in 2010
V.
Dion
Haynes -
Washington
Post
WASHINGTON
Unemployment
for
blacks
is
projected
to reach
a
25-year
high
this
year,
according
to a
study by
an
economic
think
tank,
with the
national
rate
soaring
to 17.2
percent
and the
rates in
five
states
exceeding
20
percent.
Blacks
as well
as
Hispanics
were far
behind
whites
in
employment
levels
even
when the
economy
was
booming.
But
throughout
the
recession,
the
unemployment
rate has
grown
much
more
quickly
for
blacks
and
Hispanics
than for
whites,
according
to the
study
the
Economic
Policy
Institute
released
this
month.
Moreover,
the
unemployment
gap
between
men and
women
has
reached
a record
high
with men
far
outpacing
women in
joblessness.
Blacks,
Hispanics
and men
have
suffered
the most
mainly
because
they
have
been
disproportionately
employed
in
sectors
hardest
hit in
the
recession
manufacturing
and
construction.
For
instance,
the
unemployment
rate for
blacks
is
expected
to reach
27
percent
in
Michigan,
which
has been
shedding
auto
industry
jobs.
Other
states
with
jobless
rates
higher
than 20
percent
for
blacks
are
Alabama,
Illinois,
Ohio and
South
Carolina.
The rate
for
Hispanics
is
projected
to reach
22.2
percent
in
Nevada,
which
has
experienced
a
dramatic
slowdown
in
construction.
The
results
demonstrate
that the
Obama
administration
needs to
do more
to
target
groups
with
high
unemployment
rates,
experts
say. The
Congressional
Black
Caucus
wants
the
government
to
create
training
programs
and jobs
in
low-income
communities
with the
highest
unemployment
rates.
Its
like
triage
in an
emergency
room
you take
care of
people
who need
the most
help
first
and you
help the
others
later,
said Kai
Filion,
research
analyst
at the
Economic
Policy
Institute.
He said
that the
economic
losses
could
result
in a 50
percent
poverty
rate for
black
children,
up from
34
percent
in 2008.
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