Hispanics and Asians suffered a lower rate of job loss in the recession and enjoyed a faster rate of growth during the recovery than their black and white counterparts

Hispanics experienced only a 2.4% loss in employment during the Great Recession, followed by a 6.5% gain during the recovery, according to a new report from the Pew Hispanic Center. Asians had a similar experience, with a 2.8% job loss and a 6.8% gain. Their employment levels are higher now than just before the start of the Great Recession in December 2007. The picture, however, looks very different for whites and blacks. Whites suffered a 5.9% change in employment during the recession, but only a 1.1% job gain afterward. Blacks saw a 7% decline in employment and a 2.2% gain. One reason for the vast differences is the swift growth in the immigrant population. Immigrants - many of whom are Asian or Hispanic - have enjoyed a faster rate of employment growth than native-born workers. Each group still suffers from a jobs gap - the shortfall in employment relative to population. Blacks suffer from the greatest gap: about 12% or 2 million people. The gap for whites is more than 7%, or 7 million, while for Hispanics, it is nearly 6%, or more than 1 million. Asians' gap is 5% or less than a half-million people.