Recent data have shown that the downturn in the economy and the corresponding decrease in demand in the labor market following the September 11 attacks have had a disproportionate effect on blacks. In addition to unemployment levels consistently double that of whites, blacks are often the first to be laid off and the last to be rehired in economic downturns, and experience greater increases in joblessness. Community leaders and economic researchers attribute these disparities to blacks' unequal access to educational opportunities, their resulting concentration in low-paying, low-security jobs, and direct discrimination in hiring.
See "Jobless Blacks Face Steepest Challenge", LEE ROMNEY and KAREN ROBINSON-JACOBS, Los Angeles Times, November 25, 2001