Must-Read: Nick Bunker: Recessions, recoveries, and racial employment gaps in the United States: "The unemployment gap between black and white workers... can’t be explained by black Americans having lower levels of education or differences in demographics... http://equitablegrowth.org/equitablog/value-added/recessions-recoveries-and-racial-employment-gaps-in-the-united-states/
...The unexplained portion—in this case almost all of the gap—is likely due to either direct discrimination and bias in the labor market or unequal access to resources such as education.... The job-separation rate—moving from employment to unemployment—is the biggest driver of the racial differences in the unemployment rate and accounts for the increases in the gap during recessions. The importance of the job-separation rate would mean that a strong labor market reduces the racial unemployment gap not because it’s boosting hiring rates disproportionately more for black workers but rather because it’s preventing the disproportionate firing that black workers experience during recessions...
