[Excerpt] The U.S. job market continued to deteriorate in 2009, and all major race and ethnicity groups continued to experience labor market diffi culties. For the second year in a row, employment fell more sharply for Blacks and Hispanics than for Whites and Asians. Unemployment rates remained especially high for Blacks and Hispanics in 2009, reaching 14.8 percent for Blacks and 12.1 percent for Hispanics. These fi gures were much higher than the unemployment rates for Whites and Asians, at 8.5 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.