My Two Cents

Unemployment rate for college educated African-Americans

Chris Farrell Apr 22, 2009

The Economic Policy Institute highlights a worrisome trend. “Fifteen months into a deep recession, college-educated white workers still had a relatively low unemployment rate of 3.8% in March of this year,” writes Algernon Austin of the EPI. “The same could not be said for African Americans with four-year degrees.” African Americans with a college diploma have essentially double the unemployment rate of their white peers. They are also worse off than similarly educated Hispanics and Asians.

Here’s the chart:

The economic rewards to higher education are disproportionately low for African Americans.

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