Federal Labor Department figures show 8.5 percent of Americans were out of jobs and looking for work in December, which is an improvement over the previous month's 8.6 (later revised to 8.7).
But underneath those numbers is a disparity among ethnic, gender and age groups that widened as the economy nosedived.
Nearly 1 in 6 black men were unemployed and seeking a job in December. And among white men, approximately 1 in 13 was in the same circumstance.
One in 9 Hispanics was unemployed last month.
While the month-over-month job picture improved slightly for most groups, it got a little worse for white women -- a 0.1 percent increase in their unemployment rate. Women are also twice as likely to work part time as men, according to the Labor Department.
These national figures paint a landscape of the jobless trying to find work in a still unsteady economy, although job creation in the last 12 months has helped nudge the economy forward.
"It has led to unemployment falling, but it's falling the most for white men," said William Rodgers, chief economist for the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.
One of the key factors among minorities is the public sector, which shed 280,000 jobs in 2011 while the private sector added more than 1.5 million non-farm jobs.
Blacks, for example, are more likely to work for the government than whites or Hispanics, according to the Labor Department.
Since the public sector has historically had more diversity, cuts in government workers have especially affected minorities and women, Rodgers said.
"Starting in the 1960s, the public sector was a major place where women and minorities found employment, a place where they could be treated fairly, and the pay was good, middle-class wages," he said.
Meanwhile, job opportunities for young adults, particularly for those without college degrees, are scarcer, he said.
Of those between the ages of 20 and 24, 14.4 percent were unemployed in December. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, the unemployment rate was 9.4 percent -- almost one percentage point higher than the national average.
To see employment improve among these age groups and demographics, the economy will need to add significantly more jobs -- from 300,000 to 350,000 a month -- and do so across different industries, Rodgers said.
The federal government's report Friday, which was seen as a bright spot for 2011, said 200,000 jobs were added in December.
"We need this kind of report to really take off and accelerate," he said.
The unemployed
At the One Stop Career Center in Pleasantville, the unemployed are trying to get back into the work force. They span all ethnicities, ages and genders, but share a common element -- the stress and uncertainty of being unemployed.
Raul Perez, 33, of Somers Point, has had a tough year. He was a casino valet parking attendant who was laid off about a year ago when things got slow, he said.
"It's stressful. I have a 13-year-old and a 2-year-old, and I need to support them," he said. "I need to pay rent, I need to provide for them. And it's really hard to get a job to provide for a family."
Perez said he has been applying for jobs, but has found none.
"I got one interview. They said they'd call me and never did. I've been applying for jobs for a year," he said.
Now, Perez said, he is considering moving to New York. His brother, who lives there, told him the job picture looks better there.
"We're looking for a better place, to find something better," he said.
Tknesha Love, 28, of Atlantic City, has been out of work since September. Love, a certified nursing assistant, said finding a job in the current market has been difficult.
"There are job opportunities around, but for them hiring, they say they want more experience and things of that nature. You have to look in a different field or something," Love said.
Love said she has been thinking more about starting her own personalized clothing business as her job searches have so far been fruitless.
Out of work since October, Arlene Pensyl, 47, of Pleasantville, sat in front of a computer monitor at the One Stop Career Center, applying for housekeeping positions online.
For the past two months, the Salvation Army paid her to ring bells beside kettles in Mays Landing and Pleasantville, she said. She volunteers for the Salvation Army as well.
"I'm trying to stay busy to keep focused. When you lose focus, you get depressed, and you can't give up," she said.
Kelly Francisco, 37, moved back to Atlantic City from Baltimore in June. He lost his casino job in December.
"This is my first time applying for unemployment benefits in my life," he said. Previously, Francisco said, he had repeated temporary jobs. He moved back to Atlantic City, where he has family and sees hope in the local employment picture.
But also, he said, the region doesn't seem as cold and lonely as Baltimore, where he also faced unemployment but didn't apply for benefits, he said.
"Right here, now it's looking good. I know something's going to come about. The last two years were bad, like heat got shut off, electricity. It can't be worse than how it was. God willing, it can't get worse."
