By Nick Martinez, from the Center for Community Change

While high unemployment rates persist across the population, black and Latino young adults face higher unemployment than their white counterparts. Among young adults ages 18 to 24, 29% of blacks and 20% of Latinos are unemployed, compared to only 15% of whites.

The high rates are troubling across the board, but the disparities between whites and young people of color are particularly problematic. Joblessness does not exist in a vacuum. It is only a symptom of the long-standing imbalance between races in this country.

Racial discrimination exists in hiring practices, as study after study shows, but gaps in education and incarceration rates contribute to the differences in joblessness as well.

In terms of education:

Higher education is increasingly important to finding a job, especially a good job with decent wages, but only 39% of blacks and 46% of Latinos graduate from four-year public institutions compared with 57% of whites, according to Young Invincible’s State of Young America report.

These disparities have some grounding in the lower rates of graduation from high school and the prohibitively high cost of college.  Lower-income families a re disproportionately black and Latino, with poverty rates of 35% and 34% respectively compared to 13% for whites . As higher education costs skyrocket and financial aid for students falters, blacks and Latinos will continue to be left behind in the quest for the education needed to land a good job, unless fundamental changes are made to the system.

As for the issue of incarceration: For people leaving prison with a criminal record, finding employment is even more difficult. Unfortunately, blacks and Latinos compose a disproportionate share of this population, too. A staggering 1 in 9 black males and 1 in 27 Latino males ages 25 to 29 were in prison or jail in 2009—that’s compared to just 1 in 60 white males in the same age group, according to the State of Young America report.

With prison time decreasing job offers by two-thirds for blacks, compared to 50% for white men, this is another challenge for black and Latino people in this sour economy.

Not having a job then only perpetuates the cycle, disproportionately leaving blacks and Latinos in poverty, with lower levels of education and with higher rates of incarceration. For change to happen, a holistic approach is needed, with increases in job training, financial aid, youth mentorship and a host of other areas.

Blacks and Latinos should have the same opportunities as whites at every stage, and we cannot let another generation grow up without an equal support system and equal access to the American Dream.