Jobless rate gap for U.S. Latinos widens

WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- The unemployment gap between Latinos and non-Latinos in the United States is widening as the economy slumps, a report issued Wednesday said.

Unemployment for Latinos in the first quarter of 2008 jumped to 7.3 percent, while unemployment for the general population rose to 5 percent, the Los Angeles Times reported.

At the end of 2006, the gap between Latinos and non-Latinos was 0.5 percent, with Latino unemployment at 4.9 percent, while the general unemployment rate was 4.4 percent, the report said.

"It's striking indeed, especially for foreign workers and the Mexican-born," said the associate director for research at the Pew Hispanic Center Rakesh Kochhar.

Unemployment among Mexican immigrants has hit 8.4 percent, while those who have had less time to settle -- Mexicans who emigrated in 2000 or later -- are experiencing a 9.3 percent unemployment rate.