The labor market crisis is breaking national records each month, with no end in sight. The heaviest burden is falling on blacks and Hispanics, who are contending with much higher unemployment rates than whites nationally—about one-and-a-half times as high for Hispanics and twice as high for blacks. According to an updated analysis through the second quarter of 2009 and new projections through 2010, the trend has worsened and is likely to continue to do so.

This supplement, State Unemployment Trends by Race, Ethnicity and Gender, includes a national overview and takes a closer look at three hard-hit states: New York, Alabama, and Illinois.