The U.S. economy continues to improve and the unemployment rate continues to fall, but the numbers vary greatly by state, race and ethnicity, according to new research by the Economic Policy Institute.
In September, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 5.9 percent — the lowest level since July 2008 and down from 7.2 percent in September 2013.
By state, September’s jobless rates ranged from a high of 7.9 percent in Georgia to a low of 2.8 percent in North Dakota. Texas’ rate was 5.2 percent.
Nationally, blacks had the highest unemployment rate (11 percent), followed by Latinos (6.9 percent), whites (5.1 percent) and Asians (4.3 percent). None of those numbers have been adjusted for seasonal variations.
Texas showed similar trends — albeit with lower rates — for the three months ended Sept. 30. The state’s unemployment rate was highest for blacks (9.2 percent), Latinos (5.6 percent), whites (3.9 percent) and Asians (3.8 percent).
Texas was one of seven states where the black jobless rate was below 10 percent in the June-to-September period. The black unemployment rate was lowest in Virginia (8.2 percent) and highest in Nevada (16.8 percent).
Virginia had the smallest gaps in jobless rates by race in the third quarter, according to institute. However, no state leads in the recovery for all race groups, it found.
The Economic Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington D.C.