Democrats said Monday that President George W. Bush’s economic policy is partly responsible for a staggering 10.6 percent unemployment rate among black Americans, which is more than twice the national unemployment rate of whites and the largest one-month increase on record.

The federal government’s November figures show the unemployment rate among whites is holding steady at 4.3 percent, while the black unemployment rate continues to climb to record levels, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Black congressional leaders and some economists said the inability of black Hurricane Katrina evacuees to find jobs as a result of their displacement is contributing to the high black unemployment rates.

"As usual President Bush is totally off the mark with his economic outlook,” Amaya Smith, deputy press secretary for the Democratic National Committee, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“He seems to not only have ignored the advice of Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, who, on the same day, warned about the dangers of looming deficits, but he has also turned a blind eye to the fact that African-American unemployment remains more than twice that of white Americans,” said Smith. “If the Bush administration truly wants to reach out to African-American voters, they would join Democrats in working on an economic plan that provides jobs for all Americans."

Rep. Mel Watt, (D-NC) chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina could push unemployment rates for black Americans even higher. Thousands of Katrina evacuees, many of whom are black and unemployed, are still living in government-subsidized hotels across the country.

"While the disappointing labor figures for November show the unemployment rate for blacks at 10.6 percent, I am confident that the actual rate is much higher because many African-Americans have stopped looking for jobs or simply cannot find a job, like those displaced by Hurricane Katrina,” Watt said in a statement.

"The possibility of obtaining a job and developing economic security remains out of reach for too many African-Americans, and this negatively impacts every aspect of life,” he said. “Unemployment makes it impossible to have access to health care, widens the opportunity gap in education and makes it impossible for individuals to achieve their full potential.” 

While Democrats criticized Bush for creating an economic environment that is devastating to black Americans, the Bush administration is presenting Americans with a more positive outlook for the economy. Bush said under his leadership, America added 215,000 jobs for the month of November.

"We're not going to rest until every American who wants a job can find one," Bush said in a speech last week.

“We've added nearly 4.5 million new jobs in the last two-and-a-half years,” the president said. “Third-quarter growth of this year was 4.3 percent. That's in spite of the fact that we had hurricanes and high gasoline prices. The unemployment rate is 5 percent. And that's lower than the average for the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.”

“We have every reason to be optimistic about our economic future,” Bush said. "The foundation for growth is strong.”

But Democrats called Bush’s economic policy a “failure.”

"Millions of Americans already know what the President refuses to admit, that the Bush economy isn't working for them,” Karen Finney, communications director for Democratic National Committee, said in a statement.

"The President traveled to North Carolina today to sell his failed economic agenda,” Finney said. “He neglected to explain to the people of that state, who have seen more than a hundred thousand of their friends and neighbors lose their manufacturing jobs, why his White House has stood aside and offered little help. We simply cannot trust Republicans in Washington to put the economy back to work for the American people.”

Jared Bernstein, a senior economist for the Economic Policy Institute, told BlackAmericaWeb.com Monday the 10.6 percent black unemployment rate “is the largest one-month jump on record.”

“The problem with black unemployment, especially in a post-Katrina environment, is significant,” Bernstein said.  “It seems to be concentrated among older African Americans, particularly men.”

William Spriggs, chairman of the Department of Economics at Howard University, said New Orleans represents a large portion of black America that is presently displaced.

“There is an inability to locate people and evacuees have an unbelievable high unemployment rate,” Spriggs told BlackAmericaWeb.com Monday. “There is a bit of the Katrina effect here.”

Several social workers said rising unemployment among black Americans will have serious consequences for their overall quality of life.

“Employment is the main source of health insurance for most Americans, but, one out of every three African American women has no health insurance coverage, primarily due to unemployment or underemployment,” Lorraine Cole, president of the Black Women’s Health Imperative, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“For them, access to quality medical care, even for routine check-ups, is elusive,” she said. “This is a major factor that has led to the poor health status of black women compared to other groups of women.”

“Also, the stresses associated with unemployment can actually cause certain physical and mental health problems,” Cole added. “Therefore, the disproportionate burden of unemployment on African-Americans has a tremendous impact on the health of our families and communities.”