The New York Times has recently revealed the face of joblessness in the United States. Whereas the average unemployment rate averaged at 8.6% for all men and women in the period ending September 2009, the unemployment rate for Black men and women was significantly higher at 13.9%. Furthermore, the unemployment rate for Black men averaged at 16.3%, almost twice more than the national average.
The unemployment rate for Black men without high school diplomas averaged at 31% against 18.4% for White men with similar education. Hispanic males without high school diploma fared better than the Black and White men with unemployment rate of 14.6%. Even more alarming is the unemployment rate among Black males aged 15 to 24 years old who lacked a high school diploma. One in two such males was unemployed.
The unemployment rate for White and Hispanic females without high school diploma was the same at 16.3%. However, the unemployment rate for Black females without a high school diploma was significantly higher at 23.4%.
While the U.S. president is lecturing China on human rights and wrongs, it would be prudent to first fix the disparities at his home where the haves and have-nots are divided along the racial lines.
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