How do unemployment and underemployment rates for Somali Minnesotans compare to other immigrant groups and the statewide average in 2025?

1. Somali joblessness: the headline figures and their source

A detailed dataset cited by the Center for Immigration Studies reports that 21.6 percent of working‑age Somali men in Minnesota were “without a job” — a combined measure that includes both the officially unemployed (actively seeking work) and those out of the labor force — a figure used in several partisan and policy debates about the community’s economic standing ^[1].

2. How that compares to the foreign‑born and statewide averages

By contrast, reporting that draws on broader state and Census figures places unemployment among the state’s overall foreign‑born population near 6 percent, a much lower benchmark than the CIS‑derived Somali figure and the more general Minnesota averages reported by state agencies for major racial groups ^{[2] [4]}. Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) alternative‑measure reporting provides unemployment and labor‑force indicators by race (Black, Hispanic, Asian, White) but does not publish the same disaggregated Somali‑specific rates, making direct apples‑to‑apples comparison difficult in official state releases ^{[4] [5]}.

3. Underemployment and workforce attachment: signals without a hard number

Multiple local and state sources — including advocacy and legislative statements — assert that Somali Minnesotans are currently underemployed and face lower labor‑market attachment due to language, credential, and education gaps; for example, the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage described Somali communities as “currently underemployed,” and analyses repeatedly note lower educational attainment and English proficiency that correlate with underemployment ^{[3] [1]}. DEED’s alternative measures framework highlights underemployment as a concept but does not produce a Somali‑specific underemployment rate in the public summaries supplied here ^[4].

4. Why Somali rates appear higher: context and structural factors

Reporting documents key structural drivers that plausibly explain the higher Somali joblessness: a much higher share of working‑age Somalis lack a high school diploma and more than half report limited English ability in some datasets, both of which suppress labor‑market outcomes and raise the risk of underemployment even when people are working ^[1]. Local business coverage and immigrant‑economic profiles describe Somali workers concentrated in a few sectors and an initially lower entrepreneurship rate compared with longer‑established immigrant groups, patterns that can amplify volatility in hiring and wages ^{[6] [7]}.

5. Alternative narratives and upward mobility over time

At the same time, research and business‑community reports emphasize immigrant upward mobility: foreign‑born Minnesotans as a whole tend to see unemployment fall and earnings rise the longer they remain in the U.S., and case studies highlight Somali and Mexican immigrants’ economic progression over time — an important counterpoint to snapshots that capture recent arrivals’ struggles ^[7]. Advocacy analyses also stress the tax contributions and growing economic footprint of Somali Minnesotans, arguing that lower current incomes reflect recency and not permanent deficits ^{[8] [9]}.

6. What the data cannot tell readers from the provided reporting

The public reporting supplied here permits confident statements that Somali Minnesotans—especially working‑age men in certain datasets—experience joblessness rates well above the 6 percent foreign‑born benchmark and that underemployment is a recognized and politically salient problem ^{[1] [2] [3]}. It does not, however, produce a single authoritative 2025 Somali unemployment or underemployment rate from Minnesota’s official statistical agencies that is directly comparable to DEED’s race‑based or statewide measures; that gap complicates precise numerical comparisons and demands caution when interpreting single‑source figures ^[4].