<Li> Unemployment rates historically are lower for those groups with higher levels of education . For example, in May 2016 the unemployment rate for workers over 25 years of age was 2.5% for college graduates, 5.1% for those with a high school diploma, and 7.1% for those without a high school diploma . Unemployment rates roughly doubled for all three groups during the 2008--2009 period, before steadily falling back to approximately their pre-crisis levels as of May 2016 . The recovery has also favored the more educated in terms of employment and job creation . One study indicated that nearly all the 11.6 million net jobs created between 2010 and January 2016 were filled by those with at least some college education . Only 80,000 net jobs were created for those with a high school education or less . </Li> <Li> Employment levels have risen proportionally to educational attainment . From December 2007 (pre-crisis) to June 2016, the number of persons employed changed as follows: Bachelor's degree or higher + 21%; some college or associate degree + 4%; High school diploma only − 9%; and less than high school diploma − 14% . Labor force participation rates have also fallen more for men aged 25--54 with lower levels of education, as part of a long - term trend in lower labor force participation for men in that age group . </Li> <Ul> <Li> In recent decades, Asians had the lowest unemployment rate as a racial group, followed by whites, hispanics, and blacks . The New York Times reported some of the causes and consequences of higher black unemployment in February 2018: "Even at the low of 6.8 percent recorded in December (2017)--it climbed back to 7.7 percent in January--the unemployment level for black Americans would qualify as a near crisis for whites . And the relative gains have not erased disparities in opportunity and pay . A tight labor market alone can't undo a legacy of unequal school funding, residential segregation or the disproportionate rate of incarceration for black Americans . Nor can it reverse the gradual shift of well - paying jobs from inner cities to mostly white suburbs . Studies have found that discrimination in hiring and pay persists even in good economic times, making parity an elusive goal ." </Li> <Li> The unemployment rate for African Americans rose from 7.6% in August 2007 to a peak of 17.3% in January 2010, before falling back to 8.2% by May 2016 . For Latinos over the same periods, the rates were 5.5%, 12.9% and 5.6% respectively . For Asians, the rates were 3.4%, 8.4%, and 3.9% . </Li> <Li> Whites saw their employment levels fall more than non-whites over the 2007--2016 period, as a relatively larger number of white persons moves out of the prime working age (25--54) and into retirement . The number of white workers fell by approximately 700,000 from November 2007 (pre-crisis) to November 2016, while the number of workers of other races rose . Hispanics added approximately 4.9 million (+ 24%), Asian 2.3 million (+ 34%), and African Americans 2.3 million (+ 14%). These racial disparities may have helped the Trump campaign with the white working class voters in 2016 . While the age 25--54 white population fell about 5% from November 2007 to November 2016, which would correspond with a declining number of whites employed, whites also had a larger decline in the employment to population ratio than non-whites . </Li> </Ul> <Li> In recent decades, Asians had the lowest unemployment rate as a racial group, followed by whites, hispanics, and blacks . The New York Times reported some of the causes and consequences of higher black unemployment in February 2018: "Even at the low of 6.8 percent recorded in December (2017)--it climbed back to 7.7 percent in January--the unemployment level for black Americans would qualify as a near crisis for whites . And the relative gains have not erased disparities in opportunity and pay . A tight labor market alone can't undo a legacy of unequal school funding, residential segregation or the disproportionate rate of incarceration for black Americans . Nor can it reverse the gradual shift of well - paying jobs from inner cities to mostly white suburbs . Studies have found that discrimination in hiring and pay persists even in good economic times, making parity an elusive goal ." </Li>

By 2016 the unemployment rate in the us had fallen from a peak of 10 in 2009 to