Figure 2 Employment Rate, Fourth Quarters, 2007 and 2008
Changes in unemployment during the recession reveal a rapidly worsening situation for foreign-born Hispanics, native-born Hispanics and blacks in the labor market. The unemployment rates for these groups increased by similar amounts from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the fourth quarter of 2008. However, the number of unemployed persons increased at a much faster rate for foreign-born Hispanics.
The U.S. economy employed 2 million fewer persons in the fourth quarter of 2008 than it employed in the fourth quarter of 2007. Among major racial and ethnic groups, only native-born Hispanics added jobs in the past year. But this was principally a function of demographics. The native-born Latino labor force is increasing more rapidly than the labor force for any other group—4.8% compared with only 0.7% growth in the U.S. labor force. Thus, as workers retire or leave employment for other reasons, they are increasingly likely to be replaced by native-born Hispanics.
Figure 2  | Employment Rate, Fourth Quarters, 2007 and 2008  | (nonseasonally adjusted, 91)  | 2008  | 2007  | 61.6  | All  | 63. .2  | Foreign- born  | 64.7  | Hispanics  | 67.5  | Native- born  | 59 8  | Hispanics  | 62.  | 55.9  | Blacks  | 57.9  | 63.1  | Asians  | 64.7  | 62.5  | Whites  | 63 .8  | Note: Data for 2007 have been adjusted to account for the effects of annual revisions  | to the CPS.  | Source: Pew Hispanic Center tabsulations of Current Population Survey data 