Unemployment rate of Somali in usa

1. What the headline numbers show—and why they conflict

Different sources report Somali unemployment in the U.S. at very different levels because they use different surveys, years, geographies and labor-market definitions: the 2010 U.S. census snapshot for Minnesota found 47% employed and 13% unemployed with 40% economically inactive ^[1], a later national summary in Marketplace described the Somali unemployment rate as “roughly 11 percent” without tying it to a single survey year ^[2], while a demographic data site reports male unemployment of 5.6% and female unemployment of 5.0% for Somalis in the U.S. ^[3]; those numbers are not directly comparable because some combine “not in labor force” with unemployment or reflect only particular age groups or places ^{[1] [3] [2]}.

2. Minnesota: the clearest local snapshot and its caveats

Minnesota, home to the largest Somali-American population, provides the most-cited local figures: the 2010 census-derived tabulation presented in subject-matter summaries recorded 47% employed and 13% unemployed with 40% economically inactive among Somalis in Minnesota, a distribution commentators use to argue both for economic marginalization and for rising labor-market participation over time ^[1].

3. National estimates: patchwork and limitations

Nationally, there is no authoritative, single-line unemployment rate for “Somalis in the USA” in the provided sources; a 2011–2015 survey period summary showed 58% of working‑age Somali Americans employed and 5.1% self‑employed (a complement but not a direct unemployment rate) ^[1], while Marketplace’s broader reporting cited an “about 11 percent” unemployment figure without disclosing the underlying dataset or methodology in the excerpt provided ^{[1] [2]}.

4. Alternative figures and political framing to watch

Third‑party compilations and advocacy reports offer yet other numbers: a demographic site ranks Somali male unemployment at 5.6% and female at 5.0% ^[3], and a policy-focused analysis citing American Community Survey aggregates reports 21.6% of working‑age Somali men “without a job” in Minnesota—an aggregate combining those classified as unemployed and those out of the labor force—which is a different concept from the ILO/ACS unemployment rate ^[4]. These divergent figures are often deployed in competing political narratives—either highlighting economic contribution (higher employment/self‑employment shares) or spotlighting labor-market distress (higher “without a job” or non‑participation rates)—so scrutiny of definitions and periods is essential ^{[1] [4]}.

5. How to interpret the spread: measurement matters more than myth

The thread tying the sources together is methodological: unemployment rates measure only people actively seeking work, employment‑to‑population ratios measure the share working, and “without a job” or “economically inactive” measures fold in those not seeking work; local concentrations (e.g., Minnesota) and sample years create large swings, meaning any single percentage should be read with the source and definition attached rather than assumed to be a universal Somali‑American figure ^{[1] [4] [3]}.

6. Bottom line and reporting gaps

The bottom line is that the Somali unemployment rate in the U.S. cannot be stated as one definitive number from the provided reporting: documented figures in the sources range from roughly 5–6% in one demographic compilation to about 11% in a national media summary to 13% unemployed in a Minnesota 2010 snapshot and higher combined “without a job” measures in policy analyses—each anchored to different data and definitions ^{[3] [2] [1] [4]}. The available reporting does not supply a single, contemporaneous, nationally representative unemployment rate for Somali Americans using a consistent methodology, so confirming a current national figure would require consulting the underlying ACS microdata or a dedicated labor‑market study that explicitly defines “unemployment” for this group ^{[1] [5]}.