What is the unemployment rate for Somali-born versus U.S.-born Somali Minnesotans?
Executive summary
Available reporting shows Somali Minnesotans have had substantially higher unemployment rates than the statewide averages in multiple accounts: a 2010 snapshot lists 13% unemployment for Somalis in Minnesota (with 47% employed and 40% economically inactive) compared with a 6% unemployment rate for the state’s foreign‑born population [1]. Multiple local outlets and advocacy summaries describe Somali unemployment as “2–3 times higher” than statewide rates or “nearly triple” the state rate in earlier reporting [2] [3] [1].
1. What the data explicitly say: higher unemployment among Somali-born Minnesotans
Census‑based reporting cited in Wikipedia records a 2010 picture in which Somalis in Minnesota were 13% unemployed while 47% were employed and 40% economically inactive; the state’s foreign‑born unemployment rate at that time is cited as 6% [1]. Local reporting from 2015 described Somali‑born unemployment as “nearly triple” Minnesota’s overall rate [2]. Nonprofit and community summaries likewise state Somali adults have roughly “2–3 times higher” unemployment than the state overall [3]. Those three sources converge on a clear pattern: Somali‑born Minnesotans have faced materially higher unemployment in the past decade.
2. Important nuance: which Somali population and which comparison group?
Sources mix several populations and baselines. The Wikipedia entry and the SCTimes analysis refer to Somalis in Minnesota (including both foreign‑born and U.S.‑born people identifying as Somali), while the 13% figure is specifically described as “Somalis in Minnesota” with separate counts of those born in Somalia [1] [4]. Other pieces compare Somalis to the state’s foreign‑born average or to the statewide overall rate; the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) materials cite a 6% unemployment rate for the foreign‑born workforce in 2013 as a point of comparison [5]. That means reported gaps depend heavily on whether the comparator is the overall Minnesota unemployment rate, the foreign‑born rate, or subgroups by age and nativity [5] [1].
3. Youth, labor‑force participation and “economically inactive” people change the picture
Reporting highlights that Minnesota’s Somali population is much younger (median age roughly in the early 20s in several accounts), which increases the share classified as students, caregivers, or otherwise “economically inactive” — a category that can depress employment rates and inflate unemployment statistics when not separated carefully [6] [4]. The 2010 snapshot shows 40% economically inactive among Somalis in Minnesota, a figure that matters because unemployment rates measure only those actively seeking work, not people out of the labor force [1].
4. Time matters: trends show mobility and narrowing gaps for some immigrants
State analysis argues that immigrant unemployment tends to fall the longer people live in the U.S., and DEED’s recent overviews document shifts in foreign‑born labor outcomes over 2013–2023, including a 6% unemployment reference for the foreign‑born workforce in 2013 [7] [5]. National research summarized by the St. Louis Fed suggests that immigrants resident in the U.S. for more than three years often have unemployment rates similar to or slightly lower than native‑born workers between 2014–2024 [8]. Available sources do not mention time‑series unemployment specifically for Somali‑born versus U.S.‑born Somali Minnesotans across recent years.
5. Where reporting is thin: direct Somali‑born vs U.S.‑born Somali comparisons
None of the supplied sources provides a contemporary, side‑by‑side unemployment rate for Somali‑born Minnesotans versus U.S.‑born Minnesotans of Somali heritage. Sources either present Somali population aggregates, older ACS snapshots, qualitative descriptions, or comparisons to foreign‑born or statewide averages [1] [2] [3]. Therefore, a precise, current Somali‑born vs U.S.‑born Somali unemployment rate split is not available in the provided reporting.
6. How to interpret the evidence and what’s at stake
Taken together, these sources establish that Somali Minnesotans—especially those born abroad—have faced substantially higher unemployment than typical Minnesota benchmarks in available snapshots [1] [2] [3]. Yet the picture is complicated by youth demographics, high rates of economic inactivity, and differences between foreign‑born and U.S.‑born cohorts; DEED and academic work also indicate immigrant labor market outcomes often improve with time in the U.S. [5] [8]. That complexity matters for policy: solutions aimed at “unemployment” must distinguish between joblessness, labor‑force nonparticipation, childcare barriers, and the assimilation effects that lower unemployment over time [4] [7].
If you want precise, up‑to‑date figures split by nativity (Somali‑born vs U.S.‑born Somali Minnesotans), I can help locate the specific American Community Survey tables, DEED microdata, or academic studies that produce that disaggregated detail — current sources provided here do not include that exact split (available sources do not mention a direct Somali‑born vs U.S.‑born Somali unemployment comparison).