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Why is black unemployment so high right now?

Airyaman

Airyaman

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We often speak of the low unemployment rate (for now) at 4.2%.

But the black unemployment rate has been rising and is now up to 7.2% according to the latest data in July.

thegrio.com

Black unemployment under Trump reaches its highest rate since the pandemic. Here's what it could mean

"Black workers are often last hired, first fired," said Angela Hanks, chief of policy programs of The Century Foundation.
thegrio.com thegrio.com

Trump used to brag all the time about the low unemployment rate among black people, but he's hasn't mentioned it all lately. The reason is obvious.

It reached it's lowest point under Biden at 5%.

So why are black people facing more unemployment under Trump?

According to the link above, it may be another sign of a flailing economy.

“Black workers are often last hired, first fired, and so when you see Black unemployment
rising, it’s both concerning for Black workers, but it also tends to suggest something deeper
is going on in the economy,” she explained.

During the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the data showed a
rise in Black unemployment. Hanks warned, “It’s typically associated with some sort of
crisis that’s happening more broadly.”
Click to expand...

But perhaps not truly, it may be that DOGE's chainsaw hit black people harder.

To some degree, the increased Black unemployment rate isn’t a total surprise. The rates for
Black men and, more acutely, Black women, saw increases in recent months. The federal
workforce, which has seen the biggest decline, is disproportionately Black.
Click to expand...

What do you think is the reasons that the black unemployment rate is on the rise under a Trump presidency?
 
Airyaman said:
We often speak of the low unemployment rate (for now) at 4.2%.

But the black unemployment rate has been rising and is now up to 7.2% according to the latest data in July.

thegrio.com

Black unemployment under Trump reaches its highest rate since the pandemic. Here's what it could mean

"Black workers are often last hired, first fired," said Angela Hanks, chief of policy programs of The Century Foundation.
thegrio.com thegrio.com

Trump used to brag all the time about the low unemployment rate among black people, but he's hasn't mentioned it all lately. The reason is obvious.

It reached it's lowest point under Biden at 5%.

So why are black people facing more unemployment under Trump?

According to the link above, it may be another sign of a flailing economy.



But perhaps not truly, it may be that DOGE's chainsaw hit black people harder.



What do you think is the reasons that the black unemployment rate is on the rise under a Trump presidency?
Click to expand...
Why blame Trump? It's been on a slight upwards trend since 2023.

black-unemployment.webp
 
Because they are lazy. Because Trump has done away with DEI hires. Because they rather riot. Because ............... oh hell, I am sure if I ask Fox they will know the answer.
 
Black women, as a group, were the Americans that saw the pain that was coming and voted at like 92% against Trump and the misery and chaos and corruption they knew he would bring.

As a group, they're smarter than everybody.
 
Jagged said:
Black unemployment has been on the rise for over 2 years, yet you focus on just the last 6 months since Trump has been president. You're obviously trying to make this about Trump.
Click to expand...
You do realize he is president right now, right? It would seem natural to include him since his policies are causing chaos in the economy.
 
Airyaman said:
You do realize he is president right now, right? It would seem natural to include him since his policies are causing chaos in the economy.
Click to expand...
Who said anything about excluding him? The problem with this thread is that you intended it to be solely about him, even though this trend began well before him.
 
Jagged said:
Who said anything about excluding him? The problem with this thread is that you intended it to be solely about him, even though this trend began well before him.
Click to expand...
Strawman.
 
Jagged said:
Who said anything about excluding him? The problem with this thread is that you intended it to be solely about him, even though this trend began well before him.
Click to expand...
They're his numbers now. Deal with it.
 
Airyaman said:
You do realize he is president right now, right? It would seem natural to include him since his policies are causing chaos in the economy.
Click to expand...
But did you complain about it when Biden was president?
 
Jagged said:
I didn't deny they are his numbers. I pointed out this trend preceded him.
Click to expand...
Yes, and as we know everything was either covered up or overlooked by the left under Biden. TDS
 
Racism.
 
Queen Margo said:
But did you complain about it when Biden was president?
Click to expand...
I did not see others complaining, so the topic never came up.

People are complaining now, so now the topic is in the news.

They did experience the lowest unemployment rate ever under Biden at one point however.
 
Jagged said:
I didn't deny they are his numbers. I pointed out this trend preceded him.
Click to expand...
Just like Trump does with Biden, Trumps needs to blamed for the bad numbers while he is in office is my point. Trump should do something about them, right?
 
Facts left out

Under Trump Black unemployment reached it a record low at the time of 5.3% in Aug/Sept 2019.

Black unemployment has been trended up for since it hit another record low of 4.8% in Apr. 2023.

There are large fluctuations in the rate from month to month.


Screenshot 2025-08-06 115242.webp




fred.stlouisfed.org

Unemployment Rate - Black or African American

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - Black or African American (LNS14000006) from Jan 1972 to Jul 2025 about African-American, 16 years +, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.
fred.stlouisfed.org
 
roberthughey said:
Facts left out

Under Trump Black unemployment reached it a record low at the time of 5.3% in Aug/Sept 2019.

Black unemployment has been trended up for since it hit another record low of 4.8% in Apr. 2023.

There are large fluctuations in the rate from month to month.


View attachment 67583455




fred.stlouisfed.org

Unemployment Rate - Black or African American

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - Black or African American (LNS14000006) from Jan 1972 to Jul 2025 about African-American, 16 years +, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.
fred.stlouisfed.org
Click to expand...
Why is it so high now?

That IS the title of the thread. We're not talking 2019.
 
Airyaman said:
So why are black people facing more unemployment under Trump?

According to the link above, it may be another sign of a flailing economy.
Click to expand...

Bingo.

Unemployment among Black Americans can be an early sign of economic strain. It’s rising
Economists say the surge in unemployment for Black people this year could be a troubling sign for the economy at large, since this segment is often the first hit by economic downturns. Other ethnic groups may already be seeing the effects of a weakening labor market; unemployment rates among White, Asian and Hispanic or Latino workers ticked up 0.1, 0.4 and 0.2 percentage points in July, respectively. Plus, the picture of a strong labor market took a hit with the release of the most recent jobs report, which showed payroll gains for May and June were revised downward by 258,000.

"The Black unemployment rate is always the first to go up. That’s always the canary in the coal mine,” said Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Click to expand...
 
Airyaman said:
Why is it so high now?

That IS the title of the thread. We're not talking 2019.
Click to expand...

I'm not an economist.

Were you aware that black unemployment has been trending upward over the past 2 years when you posted this thread?
 
Frustrating to have this conversation when the numbers referenced by various resources do not align, that is on top of us changing the timeframes to reframe the conversation.

On search, what I am seeing is several articles pointing to trends in unemployment for black men and women as a troubling sign for the economy. It seems some of the issue is cuts to the Federal workforce and that tends to harm minority employment as the government tends to disproportionately hire minorities in comparison to the public sector. The OP article mentions this, so does the USA Today I linked below, but they both also mention the trade war causing other economic headwinds.

This all reads like economic slowdown, from various faults, caused by Trump Administration actions to date. As in early indications from actions taken recently. So, 2 year or 10 year or longer trends does not mean all that much to this conversation. It should, but it does not now given all the change we have seen in such a short period of time.

You could look at this as intentional, but really it is MAGA ignorance on what moves an economy one way or the other. Short or long term.

www.usatoday.com

Unemployment among Black Americans can be an early sign of economic strain. It’s rising

Economists say the rise in unemployment among Black Americans could be a troubling sign for the economy at large.
www.usatoday.com
 
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