The Providence, R.I., and Hartford, Conn., metropolitan areas led the nation in Hispanic unemployment in 2010. Of the 38 metro areas with data sufficient for reliable estimates, Providence led with a Hispanic unemployment rate of 25.2 percent; Hartford was not far behind with a rate of 23.5 percent. These rates exceeded that of Hispanics in Las Vegas, which has been hit hard by the bursting of the housing bubble and the foreclosure crisis. Las Vegas ranked fourth with a Hispanic unemployment rate of 19.4 percent. Fresno, Calif., ranked third with a rate of 21.1 percent.

The Providence and Hartford Hispanic unemployment rates are more than ten percentage-points higher than the 13.4 percent rate for Hispanics in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, which has the largest Hispanic population.

The metropolitan areas with the highest rates of Hispanic unemployment had much higher unemployment rates than the overall national unemployment rate of 9.6 percent in 2010. They were also much higher than the national Hispanic average of 12.5 percent. Indeed, the Hispanic metro areas with the highest rates rival the peak national unemployment rate during the Great Depression. Hispanic workers, like all other workers, need our policymakers to enact a bold jobs agenda.

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MORE: See Hispanic unemployment highest in Northeast metropolitan areas for more Hispanic unemployment rates by metro area. See High black unemployment widespread across nation’s metropolitan areas for black metro unemployment rates.