US unemployment - how it compares to NZ

A Washington Post report describes how the US economy continues to shed jobs. The good news is that the reduction is in the public sector. The private sector is adding jobs.

The nation's 14.8 million unemployed people have been out of work an average of 33.3 weeks, and nearly 42 percent of the unemployed have been out of work for at least six months.

By way of comparison in NZ 21 percent of the unemployed have been out of work for 6 months or more (not including those who have not specified the duration of spell).

Men continued to bear the brunt of the unemployment problem, with an overall unemployment rate of 9.8 percent, compared with 8 percent rate for women. The unemployment rate for 16.1 percent for blacks, 12.4 percent for Hispanics, 8.7 percent for whites and 6.4 percent for Asians. All of those rates were little changed from August.

Again a comparison to NZ shows that the unemployment rate for men is 6.9 percent compared to 6.8 percent for women. The unemployment rate for Maori is 16.4 percent, Pacific 14.1 percent, Asian 10.5 percent and European 4.4 percent.

Interesting that in the US Asians have the lowest unemployment rate whereas is NZ it is considerably higher than for Europeans. Do Asians do better in a more capitalist society? Are Asians more (or less) integrated into the US compared to NZ and what difference does that make? Perhaps where an ethnicity is less integrated their own economies provide more work opportunities? I have no idea what the answers are. You might.