1.   And the gap between the layoff rate for blacks compared with whites widened significantly over the last three years.

2.   At the same time, the layoff rate for blacks rose.

3.   That layoff rate was slightly lower than earlier in the decade but well above a comparable period a decade earlier.

4.   The increase in the difference between the layoff rate for blacks and whites ends six years of narrowing.

5.   The layoff rate for Hispanics, however, dropped sharply, falling below that of blacks.