Book Description

Nationally, Asian Americans have the lowest unemployment rate of the major racial groups. But a closer look at unemployment by educational attainment shows a more complicated picture. Asian Americans with bachelor's degrees have a higher unemployment rate than whites with comparable education, but Asian American high school dropouts are more successful than comparable whites at finding jobs. As a result, the economic hardships and disadvantages for Asian Americans are sometimes overlooked. This Issue Brief shows that Asian American workers experience a complex mix of advantages and disadvantages in finding jobs when education level is considered. It concludes that if Asian Americans had the same unemployment rates by education level as whites, the Asian American unemployment rate would have been almost a percentage point lower in the fourth quarter of 2009. Thus, Asian American workers are disadvantaged relative to white workers in finding jobs. This paper examines the Asian American unemployment rate nationally and in five states: California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. Only these five states had Current Population Survey sample sizes large enough for reliable statistics on Asian American unemployment. These analyses of Asian Americans exclude Pacific Islander, multi-racial, and Hispanic workers. The data for white workers also exclude multi-racials and Hispanics. (Contains 6 tables, 4 figures and 2 endnotes.).