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%.