Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Number of unemployed African-Americans and Hispanics in Connecticut on the rise

Despite a slight drop in the total number of unemployed in Connecticut from a year ago, there's "an alarming increase in the number of unemployed African-Americans and Hispanics," the state African-American Affairs Commission reports in a new issue brief (PDF).

The Commission cites data from "Labor Force Data for Affirmative Action Plans," a quarterly report of the state Labor Department. The latest edition of the report says the total number of minorities (black and Hispanic) who are unemployed rose in the first quarter of 2011 compared to a year ago, from 76,260 to 81,130. That's an increase of 2.9%.

The Commission also notes some disturbing numbers on the unemployment rate for minorities in Connecticut's nine major labor markets, concluding that in all markets "minority unemployment was disproportionate to the population." In the Bridgeport-Stamford market, blacks and Hispanics accounted for more than 60 percent of the 25,330 unemployed.