Unemployment for Blacks, Hispanics in Florida saw sharp increase again in 2010

Cuts to unemployment benefit weeks would have disparate impact on workers of color, given the large difference in unemployment rates for Black and Hispanic workers. Average annual unemployment for all groups continued to go up from 2009 to 2010, but Black and Hispanic workers had much larger increases than White non-Hispanic workers. Hispanic unemployment increased the most, by 2 percentage points, and unemployment increased by 1.4 points for Black workers, compared with just 0.2 points for White non-Hispanic workers. It appears that the situation for White non-Hispanic workers is leveling off, while Hispanic and Black workers remain in crisis. Blacks had the highest unemployment rate at 16.8%, almost double that for White non-Hispanic residents. The rate for Hispanic residents was 13.6%, half again as much as for White non-Hispanic workers. A proposal currently before the legislature ties the number of weeks available to the current unemployment rate. If the unemployment rate were to fall to 8%, the maximum number of weeks will go down to 18 weeks, from 26 where it is now. But if overall unemployment falls to 8%, it could still be 11.5% for Black workers, who would still experience benefit cuts although it remains much more difficult for them to find work.

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