According to a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), African Americans are still at a disadvantage when it comes to employment in some metro areas

The EPI scanned 19 metro areas with large African American populations. Unemployment in 2011 was higher than the national rate for African Americans in several metro areas. Of the 19 areas studied, Las Vegas and Los Angeles had the highest rates of black unemployment in 2011. Las Vegas also saw the largest increase in a one-year span, from 19.8% in 2010 to 22.6% in 2011. Los Angeles saw a 1.8% increase over the same period. Overall black unemployment rates for both areas were over 20%. One major factor leading to the increase in black unemployment in both these cities may be the high levels of Hispanic migration to both these locales. The high rate of black unemployment in Las Vegas - at 22.6% - is similar to the highest overall national unemployment rates during the Great Depression. The peak unemployment rate for the entire United States was at around 20% during the great depression. The national African American unemployment rate is 15.9%.