How did unemployment and underemployment rates for Somali Minnesotans in 2025 vary by age, gender, education level, and immigration generation?

1. What the record actually contains: broad indicators, not the cross‑tabs you asked for

State and local reports cited here summarize Somali economic disadvantage and demographics but do not publish the disaggregated 2025 rates you requested. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development publishes alternative unemployment measures by race (Black, Hispanic, Asian, White) but its public monthly review does not list Somali unemployment by age, gender, education or generation ^[3]. Historical and advocacy documents cite single‑figure unemployment estimates for Somalis (for example “roughly 11%” or community statements of “40% unemployed”), but those are not broken into the cross‑tab cells you asked for and mix different vintages and definitions ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Conflicting headline figures: 11% versus community 40% — read the definitions

Journalistic and advocacy sources use very different topline numbers. Marketplace and other outlets cite a Somali unemployment rate around 11% (presented as “most recent census data” in one piece) while a Minnesota legislative statement and community brief refers to “40% of the community unemployed” in the context of a bill on Somali youth workforce development — those figures reflect different populations, dates and possibly different denominators (labor force vs. entire population) ^{[1] [2]}. Available sources do not reconcile these numbers or explain precisely which ages or nativity‑groups they include.

3. Age and demographic context strongly shapes interpretation

Multiple sources emphasize that Minnesota’s Somali population is unusually young — many analyses note half the Somali community is under 22 — which depresses employment rates if measures use the total population or include youth not in the labor force ^{[4] [5]}. That demographic reality helps explain why headline unemployment and poverty rates for Somali Minnesotans can look worse than statewide averages even as workforce participation and outcomes improve with time ^{[6] [4]}. Sources do not, however, give age‑stratified 2025 employment or underemployment rates for Somalis ^{[6] [4]}.

4. Gender, education and immigrant generation: reporting notes disparities but gives no 2025 cross‑tabs

Available reporting and state chartbooks document gender and education gaps historically (for example earlier census data showing large differences in male vs. female employment rates among Somali immigrants), and economic briefs note many early arrivals faced limited education and low workforce participation that improved over decades — but none of the provided 2025 sources publish a matrix of unemployment/underemployment by gender, schooling level, and generation (foreign‑born vs. US‑born) for Somali Minnesotans ^{[7] [6]}. The state chartbook and Minnesota Compass track cultural groups broadly but stop short of the detailed subgroup breakdown you asked for ^{[8] [9]}.

5. Underemployment is invoked but not measured consistently

Several pieces suggest underemployment is a problem — Somalis working below skill level or in part‑time jobs — yet the sources do not provide a standardized underemployment rate for Somali Minnesotans in 2025. Local reporting and historical studies point to occupational mismatch (e.g., movement into entry‑level meatpacking historically, later mobility into other sectors), but quantitative underemployment measures by education or generation are not published in these materials ^{[10] [11]}. Available sources do not mention a specific underemployment rate for 2025.

6. Political context has shaped recent coverage and may bias interpretations

Late‑2025 national coverage links Somali economic questions to a high‑profile fraud and immigration crackdown, and political rhetoric has framed Somali employment and fraud as connected; watchdog and news outlets caution evidence is limited on alleged ties to terrorism or systemic diversion of funds ^{[12] [13] [14]}. That political context increases the risk that selective or out‑of‑date unemployment figures are amplified without methodological transparency ^{[12] [13]}.

7. What you can ask next and where to look for precise cross‑tabs

To get the exact 2025 breakdowns you want, request microdata‑based tabulations from: Minnesota DEED or the Minnesota State Demographic Center for special tabulations by ancestry; the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) for Somali‑ancestry cross‑tabs by age, sex, education and nativity; or community organizations that conduct targeted surveys. Available sources do not include those microdata tabulations in 2025 public reporting ^{[3] [9]}.

Limitations: This analysis relies only on the provided sources; they emphasize demographic context and varying headline figures but do not contain the disaggregated 2025 unemployment or underemployment rates by age, gender, education and generation for Somali Minnesotans ^{[3] [1] [2]}.