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ALBANY, GA -- This month was a good one for job growth. But with those gains came some bad news.

Even as the economy added a better-than-expected 244,000 jobs the number of African-American men with jobs has hit an all-time low.

Men like Stanley Blackshear who’s getting back on the hunt for a job. He’s been unemployed for three years, but he has spent the past two months looking for work.

“Basically anything from warehouse to restaurant to whatever is available that I might qualify for,” said Blackshear.

He's finding out it's a tough market. “It's highly competitive. There are a lot of people out of work,” he said.

And it may not just be the competition, Blackshear's efforts could be hampered by the color of his skin. According to new numbers by the U.S. Labor Department only 57 percent of black men over the age of 20 have jobs. That's compared to 68 percent of white males.

It's a discrepancy noticed by Blackshear and others looking for work.

“Not trying to make an excuse but sometimes we'll get hired secondary to some of the white men,” said Blackshear.

“Some of the hiring companies are making sure white people get a job more than black guys. I don't know if I believe that or not, but that's what I’ve been hearing,” said Michael Barlow, who is also out of work.

We took these numbers over to the Albany Dougherty NAACP. They took a look at the data but didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

 “We are not prepared to comment on this matter at this time. However we would like to take this as a project and investigate it,” said David Williams of the Albany/Dougherty NAACP.

There wasn't a clear reason behind these numbers, but it is important to note that in tough economic times minorities tend to be hit worse.

Also people already in poverty and people without college degrees. Both of which have higher rates in the black community.