Black unemployment surged to 16.7% in August 2011, its highest level since 1984, while the unemployment rate for whites fell slightly to 8%, the Labor Department reported

Black unemployment has been roughly double that of whites since the government started tracking the figures in 1972. One reason for this is that fewer blacks have college degrees. Overall, black men have it the worst, with joblessness at a staggeringly high 19.1%, compared to 14.5% for black women. Black unemployment has now remained above 10% for four straight years, and given the current economic sluggishness, some experts say that it's safe to predict the rate will remain above 10% for four more years. Latinos saw their unemployment rate remain unchanged at 11.3% in August 2011. Unemployment remains at 9.1% for the country as a whole.