New Jobs Report Shows Stubbornly High Unemployment Rates for Blacks, Youth

In the final jobs report before next week's election, black unemployment rises as the national jobless rate falls.

By Jamilah King Nov 02, 2012

With just days left until voters head to the polls to choose the next U.S. president, the final election jobs report came out on Friday. In total, 171,000 jobs were created in October, but the unemployment rate ticked slightly upward, from 7.9 percent to 7.9 percent. Politico said that the new mirrors the campaign itself: "a long, grinding march forward with little in the way of big inspiration that still slightly favors Obama."

Still, the outlook for blacks, Latinos, and youth is far less optimistic. The black unemployment rate actually rose in October, going from 13.4 percent to 14.3 percent. And for black teens, those numbers are much worse: joblessness rose to a high of 40.5 percent.

As Colorlines.com’s economic justice reporter Imara Jones noted after the release of last month’s report, these new numbers underscore any at-length discussion of joblessness during this year’s presidential election. "Given that the economy is the number once concern of all Americans," wrote Jones, "the lack of presentation by the candidates of detailed plans during their exchange is almost unconscionable."

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