In the report, Director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network Douglas Hall and Policy Analyst Mary Gable compared the fluctuation of the national and statewide unemployment rate of all races in the five years after the 2008 recession.

MSU economics professor Charles Ballard said Michigan has some particular difficulties that have adverse effects on African Americans.

He said many black Michiganians were laid off in the manufacturing and auto industry sector and a large fraction of the black population reside in urban areas that struggle with racial segregation and economic isolation.

“The situation has improved somewhat in the three years since things bottomed out, but not enough to undo the damage,” Ballard said. “By some measures, the Detroit metropolitan area is the most racially segregated metropolitan area in the United States.”

He also said those with the lowest levels of education are the groups with the highest rates of unemployment.

However, Michigan League for Public Policy Communications Director Judy Putnam said Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan to establish a mass transit system in southeast Michigan presents a viable solution to the state’s economic woes.

“We don’t have a way to connect the people in the city to where jobs are in the suburbs,” Putnam said. “(This) is a huge barrier in Michigan. If you don’t have a car, you are just out of luck when searching for a job.”

While finance junior Devin Petricca plans to stay in the state after graduation, he said the state is neglecting the real issue by only establishing a transit system.

“(The state) needs to do a better job with public education and making the job market better,” Petricca said.