HispanicBusiness

February was a "hold steady" month for the unemployment rate of the general population, and the pattern among U.S. Hispanics conformed to this trend.

But while the nation's unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent in February, that of Hispanics was stuck at an even more disappointing 12.4 percent.

"Congress needs to make sure that efforts to reduce the unemployment rate aid all unemployed workers -- especially Hispanics and other minorities who have experienced extremely high rates of unemployment during this recession," Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Chair of the Joint Economic Committee, said in a statement today.

The Democrat from New York added: "We need to come up with a long-term solution that focuses on education and training and gives all Americans the opportunity to succeed in our workforce."

Some quick facts from the February 2010 Jobs Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Hispanic unemployment, seasonally adjusted, is at 12.4 percent, a rise of 6.1 percentage points since the start of the recession.

The share of Hispanic workers with a job has dropped 4.6 percentage points since the start of the recession to 59.5 percent, seasonally adjusted. At least one million more Hispanics are unemployed now than at the start of the recession.

For Hispanic men age 20 and over, the unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, was 13.5 percent, an increase of 7.3 percentage points from February 2008. For Hispanic women age 20 and over, the unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, increased 5.5 percentage points from two years ago, up to 11.3 percent.

Unemployment among Hispanic teens, not seasonally adjusted, is especially high. Almost one in three Hispanic teens are unemployed. That compares with less than one in four among white teens.

The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policy.