African-Americans hit inordinately hard by recession

The cold fact, however, is that this deep recession is hitting African-Americans more severely than the overall population, due largely to the staggering levels of unemployment for this segment of the population.

When October unemployment data come out Friday, the nation’s seasonally adjusted rate is expected to nudge upward, close to 10 percent. But among African-Americans, the jobless rate was 15.5 percent in September. In Illinois, the black unemployment rate was closer to 18.6 percent in the third quarter, according to estimates by the Economic Policy Institute.

For black teens nationwide, the rate was 40.8 percent in September.http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-black-jobs-nov06,0,2759566.story

By Kathy Bergen — Chicago Tribune