• Although unemployment among white people and people of color have followed a similar trend between 1980 and 2010, the unemployment rate for people of color has been consistently higher by roughly 5 percentage points. In 2020, the gap decreased to 3 percentage points.
• Unemployment is highest in states such as Alaska and Mississippi. Among cities, unemployment is highest in Detroit, MI and Cleveland, OH.
• Black people and Native Americans have the highest unemployment rates among all racial and ethnic groups identified by the census. Asian Americans and white people have the lowest unemployment rates.
• Since 1990, Native Americans have consistently experienced the highest rates of unemployment. In 2020, 10 percent of Native American men and 8 percent of Native American women are unemployed. Within Native Americans, people with Tohono O'Odham ancestry and people with Other Alaskan Native ancestry face unemployment at 18 percentage points.

A variety of historical and contemporary factors cause Black, Native American, Latinx, and other workers of color to experience unemployment at much higher rates than White workers. Employer discrimination against Black workers has not improved in 25 years: among workers with the same resumes, White applicants receive 36 percent more callbacks than Black applicants and 24 percent more callbacks than Latinx people. In addition, racial segregation and disinvestment mean that students of color have far less access to well-resourced, high-quality schools. Transportation, affordable childcare and housing near job centers, and credit checks are also significant barriers to employment. Finally, racist policing practices and criminal legal system disproportionately incarcerate Black and Latinx men who then face employer discrimination due to their criminal records.

• Grow new good jobs by making smart investments in infrastructure projects, supporting economic development strategies to grow high-opportunity industries, and helping entrepreneurs of color start and scale-up their businesses.
• Reduce employment barriers for people with records by "banning the box" asking about conviction history on job applications (for private as well as public employers).
• Connect unemployed and underemployed workers to the jobs created by new development through targeted local hiring, community workforce agreements, and community benefits agreements.
• Invest a portion of infrastructure investments in job training.
• Implement sector-focused workforce training and placement programs and apprenticeships that create pathways to good jobs for workers with barriers to employment.
• At the federal level, institute a federal jobs guarantee, dedicate 1 percent of infrastructure investments to a fund for inclusive job and contracting supports, set aside a share of public contracts for businesses owned by people of color to mirror area demographics, reform the Community Reinvestment Act to expand access to fair financial products and services for entrepreneurs of color, and ensure that releasees from federal prison receive essential identification documents to support job attainment.

• Reports: How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families’ Employment and Financial Well-Being; 10 Principles for a Federal Job Guarantee; Exploring Targeted Hire; Despite Continued Job Growth, Long-Term Unemployment Persists; Hiring Bias Blacks And Latinos Face Hasn't Improved In 25 Years
• Data: Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker (Low-Income Employment);  Metro Monitor; State of Working America; Understanding Long-Term Employment