Black and AIAN unemployment is consistently higher than unemployment of all other racial and ethnic groups: Annual unemployment rate by race and ethnicity, 1979–2024
| Year | White | Black | Hispanic | AIAN | Asian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 5.1% | 12.3% | 8.3% | ||
| 1980 | 6.3% | 14.3% | 10.1% | ||
| 1981 | 6.7% | 15.6% | 10.4% | ||
| 1982 | 8.6% | 18.9% | 13.8% | ||
| 1983 | 8.4% | 19.5% | 13.7% | ||
| 1984 | 6.5% | 15.9% | 10.7% | ||
| 1985 | 6.2% | 15.1% | 10.5% | ||
| 1986 | 6.0% | 14.5% | 10.6% | ||
| 1987 | 5.3% | 13.0% | 8.8% | ||
| 1988 | 4.7% | 11.7% | 8.2% | ||
| 1989 | 4.5% | 11.4% | 8.0% | ||
| 1990 | 4.8% | 11.4% | 8.2% | ||
| 1991 | 6.1% | 12.5% | 10.0% | ||
| 1992 | 6.6% | 14.2% | 11.6% | ||
| 1993 | 6.1% | 13.0% | 10.8% | ||
| 1994 | 5.3% | 11.5% | 9.9% | ||
| 1995 | 4.9% | 10.4% | 9.3% | ||
| 1996 | 4.7% | 10.5% | 8.9% | ||
| 1997 | 4.2% | 10.0% | 7.7% | ||
| 1998 | 3.9% | 8.9% | 7.2% | ||
| 1999 | 3.7% | 8.0% | 6.4% | ||
| 2000 | 3.5% | 7.6% | 5.7% | 7.5% | 3.6% |
| 2001 | 4.2% | 8.6% | 6.6% | 8.8% | 4.5% |
| 2002 | 5.1% | 10.2% | 7.5% | 10.3% | 5.9% |
| 2003 | 5.2% | 10.8% | 7.7% | 10.5% | 6.0% |
| 2004 | 4.8% | 10.4% | 7.0% | 9.6% | 4.4% |
| 2005 | 4.4% | 10.0% | 6.0% | 9.3% | 4.0% |
| 2006 | 4.0% | 8.9% | 5.2% | 7.9% | 3.0% |
| 2007 | 4.1% | 8.3% | 5.6% | 8.1% | 3.2% |
| 2008 | 5.2% | 10.1% | 7.6% | 9.9% | 4.0% |
| 2009 | 8.5% | 14.8% | 12.1% | 13.3% | 7.3% |
| 2010 | 8.7% | 16.0% | 12.5% | 15.1% | 7.5% |
| 2011 | 7.9% | 15.8% | 11.5% | 14.6% | 7.0% |
| 2012 | 7.2% | 13.8% | 10.3% | 12.3% | 5.9% |
| 2013 | 6.5% | 13.1% | 9.1% | 12.8% | 5.2% |
| 2014 | 5.3% | 11.3% | 7.4% | 11.3% | 5.0% |
| 2015 | 4.6% | 9.6% | 6.6% | 9.9% | 3.8% |
| 2016 | 4.3% | 8.4% | 5.8% | 8.9% | 3.6% |
| 2017 | 3.8% | 7.5% | 5.1% | 7.8% | 3.4% |
| 2018 | 3.5% | 6.5% | 4.7% | 6.6% | 3.0% |
| 2019 | 3.3% | 6.1% | 4.3% | 6.1% | 2.7% |
| 2020 | 7.3% | 11.4% | 10.4% | 11.7% | 8.7% |
| 2021 | 4.7% | 8.6% | 6.8% | 8.2% | 5.0% |
| 2022 | 3.2% | 6.1% | 4.3% | 6.2% | 2.8% |
| 2023 | 3.3% | 5.5% | 4.6% | 6.6% | 3.0% |
| 2024 | 3.6% | 6.0% | 5.1% | 6.5% | 3.5% |
Notes: AIAN refers to American Indian and Alaska Native. Shaded areas denote recessions. Race and ethnicity categories are not mutually exclusive; white, Black, AIAN, and Asian data do not exclude Hispanic workers of each race.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey, Annual Unemployed Rate by Race and Ethnicity data series LNU04000003, LNU04000006, LNU04000009, LNU04035243, and LNU04032183.
Sources: Economic Policy Institute analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey (Household Survey), Annual Unemployed Rate by Race and Ethnicity data series LNU04000003, LNU04000006, LNU04000009, LNU04032183, and LNU04035243. Accessible via Series Report Data Retrieval Tool and https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/ln/. Accessed August 2025.