As the country prepares to honor its work force on Labor Day this Monday, the employment picture in the country remains bleak. The unemployment rate rose in August for the first time in four months to 9.6%. Latinos in the country have been hit especially hard with a higher rate of unemployment at 12.1% and fewer employment opportunities especially if they are uneducated.
Less-educated, younger, and minority American workers face the worst job market in decades, far worse than their more educated counterparts. However, the situation for these workers was very difficult even before the current recession. The unemployment rate for U.S.-born Hispanic workers without a high education is currently 22.9%. It is 32.4% using the boarder measure of unemployment that includes those who want to work but have not looked recently and those forced to work part-time.
The unemployment rate for U.S.-born Hispanic workers with only a high education who are 18 to 29 is currently 23.3%. It is 33% using the boarder measure of unemployment. A direction correlation to this high unemployment rate is that nearly one-fifth of Hispanic homeowners have or will lose their homes.
Labor Day is a time for barbecues and picnics but it is also a time to remember and honor the struggles millions of Americans face trying to reenter the U.S. economy with gainful employment.
