Hispanic jobless rate shows vulnerability

WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- Unemployment among U.S. Hispanics has risen faster than other groups, underscoring their vulnerability in the U.S. economy, analysts said.

Home ownership had risen to 50 percent among Hispanics before the mortgage credit crisis began to unfold last summer, USA Today reported Thursday.

A deteriorating home equity market, rising foreclosures and Hispanic workers' dependence on construction jobs has decreased remittances sent to families in Latin America, the report said.

Unemployment among Hispanics has risen from 5.5 percent in April 2007 to 6.9 percent this year -- a faster rise than among African-Americans, whose unemployment rate is 8.6 percent.

The rate for Hispanics is apt to be less accurate, however, due to the number of immigrants who don't get counted.

The unemployment rate for whites in April was 4.4 percent, the report said.

Regular payments sent to families in Latin American have decreased from 73 percent in 2006 to 50 percent in 2008, the Inter-American Development Banks said.

The lower remittance rate means Hispanic poverty, more than with other groups, has a tendency to travel across borders, the report said.