Black Unemployment Reaches Pandemic Levels Once More, and Trump’s Economy Is to Blame
Black workers are experiencing the greatest unemployment rate since 2021, according to new federal data, as hiring stalls and expenses increase.
As the U.S. economy continues to show indications of strain as the year draws to a close, a concerning jobs report is adding to the strain on Black workers and unemployment.
According to recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, the Black unemployment rate increased once more in November, hitting 8.3%. This is the greatest level since August 2021, when the COVID-19 epidemic was at its worst. Black workers are the ones most affected by the slowdown in hiring across the economy.
Black unemployment was 6.2 percent on January 20, the day Donald Trump took the oath of office for his second term. Since then, it has increased steadily, especially as the labor market has changed due to trade tariffs, rising consumer prices, and unclear policies. Compared to April 2023, when Black unemployment fell to a record low of 4.8 percent under former President Joe Biden, this represents a dramatic reversal.
“The Trump Administration’s purported “golden age” is exclusive to the millionaires he enriches by dismantling social services. In a statement, NAACP President Derrick Johnson stated, “For everyone else, it’s the exact opposite.” He has weakened the job market, increased the cost of living, and decreased the safety of our streets. Donald Trump’s economy would receive a F if we had to grade it. Failure, failure, failure, failure.
Dr. Andre Perry, an economist at the Brookings Institution, cautioned that the pattern is indicative of more serious structural problems. Black people are bearing a disproportionate amount of the economic obligations with each month that goes by. The obvious racial clichés of education and desire to work cannot readily explain who isn’t hired, Perry said. He continued by saying, “Different rates across racial lines reveal structural flaws in our economy, both past and present.” Another clear indicator of who is not favored in an economy is uneven unemployment rates.
The national unemployment rate increased to 4.6%, the highest since the start of the pandemic. Rising Black unemployment is a danger indicator, according to former White House Council of Economic Advisers chair Jared Bernstein. He noted that low hiring rates result in people remaining unemployed for longer, saying, “That is, you know, really a tough sign for folks of color.”
Trump’s assertions that his strategy would increase employment possibilities are still being disputed by policy professionals. Trump’s “chaotic economic policies” and “attacks on the stability of our economy pose the greatest threat to Black workers,” according to Angela Hanks of The Century Foundation. She continued, “Black workers are regrettably bearing the brunt of Trump’s economy due to rising prices and unemployment rates.”
That worry was echoed by Alphonso David of the Global Black Economic Forum. “A shift toward misguided and regressive policies that reject the economic power and contributions of Black and historically marginalized communities is the cause of the rising unemployment rate among Black people in the United States,” he stated.
A Center for American Progress analysis found that immigrants are not stealing “Black jobs,” despite Trump’s frequent accusations to the contrary.
The research said, “President Trump’s policy agenda for the Black middle class has been a bait and switch, despite his prior sales pitches and current claims to the contrary.” “These policies intentionally erase the Black middle class and render it unachievable for any future generation.”
