For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 5, 2011
Contact: Phoebe Silag or Karen Conner, news@epi.org 202-775-8810

African American unemployment in Louisiana is significantly higher than white unemployment, a new Economic Policy Institute (EPI) Issue Brief finds.  In 2010, the average unemployment rate for African American Louisianans was 11.3%, while the average unemployment rate for white Louisianans was 6.0%.  Distressed Louisiana: Recovery uneven as unemployment remains high among African Americans by EPI researchers Douglas Hall and Algernon Austin also explains that the high rate of unemployment among African American workers is particularly disturbing in light of the fact that 32% of the state’s population is African American.

EPI’s local contact in Louisiana is Edward Ashworth, Director of the Louisiana Budget Project: phone – 225-929-5266 ext. 224; email – edwardashworth@lano.org.  He can help answer detailed questions about state unemployment rates by race or ethnicity.