9. Despite these gains, some less encouraging trends also emerged during the post-1965 period. The rate of unemployment for teenage blacks in 1 977- 1 978 was nearly three times the rate for white teenagers. This gap was considerably larger than it was during the mid-1960s. The rate of employment for blacks was declining, even though the rate for whites was climbing. The number of black families headed by a woman has increased substantially since 1965; the figure is now approximately one family in three. Nearly one in four black families receives public assistance AFDC payments, a substantial increase since the mid-l 960s.