2010 Unemployment Rates Decreased for All Race and Ethnic Groups

Oregon's annual unemployment rate fell from 11.5 percent in 2009 to 11.0 percent in 2010 as the effects of the recession subsided throughout the state. Unemployed Oregonians in all race and ethnicity groups struggled to find employment, but the labor market problems faced by African American and Hispanic Oregonians have been especially difficult over the last few years.

Black and Hispanic unemployment rates in the state have converged closer to that of Oregon's white population in 2010. Oregon's unemployment rate fell by 0.5 percentage point from 2009 to 2010, but for blacks or African Americans it dropped by 2.4 percentage points, Hispanics or Latinos by 0.8 percentage point, and Asians by 0.8 percentage point - all above the average. Whites, on the other hand, dropped by a below-average amount of 0.1 percentage point.

Among the major race and ethnic groups, the unemployment rate was 2.3 percentage points higher among whites in Oregon when compared with the nation. This was the only group to have a higher rate than the nation. All other groups had unemployment rates that were lower than the national average. African Americans had the largest difference between the state and national rates - Oregon's rate was 3.2 percentage points lower. The unemployment rate for Asians was 2.3 percentage points lower in Oregon, and the rate for Hispanics was 0.9 percentage point lower in Oregon.

Get more information about unemployment rates by race and ethnicity in the full article, written by me. :)