Reporting the figures in a December 9 article entitled, "Job hunt gets harder for African-Americans," USA Today notes what many among the Black population know only too well for years: "African-Americans tend to be the last to be hired" in an upturn and "the first to lose their jobs" when the economy turns sour.

The government agency announced last week that the overall unemployment rate increased from 5.7 to 6.0 percent in November, matching the April total, the highest in eight years. Among Blacks the figure jumped from 9.8 to 11 percent--almost twice the overall rate. The figure for Black men rose almost 1.5 percent to 12 percent, the highest since 1994.

The jobless rate for Latinos remained unchanged at 7.8 percent in November, also considerably higher than the national average.  
 
 
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