Feb 12, 2025 - News
Mapped: Black unemployment gap
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Sometimes overlooked in monthly jobs reports is a stark reality: The unemployment rate among Black Americans is consistently higher than the overall rate — and that gap is especially pronounced in some states.
Driving the news: The overall U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2% as of Q3 2024, but the rate among Black Americans was 6.5%, per the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank.
- Oregon matched the national rate, with a gap of 2.3%.
- Kentucky had the widest gap at 6.1% while Mississippi and Maryland were tied for the lowest at 0.8%.