A troubling jobs report is putting fresh pressure on Black workers and unemployment as the U.S. economy shows more signs of strain heading into the end of the year.
New data from the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics shows the Black unemployment rate climbed again in November, reaching 8.3 percent. That is the highest level since August 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hiring across the economy has slowed, and Black workers are feeling the impact first and hardest.
When Donald Trump was sworn into office for his second term on January 20, the Black unemployment rate stood at 6.2 percent. Since then, it has steadily risen, particularly as trade tariffs, higher consumer costs, and policy uncertainty have reshaped the labor market. This marks a sharp reversal from April 2023, when Black unemployment hit a historic low of 4.8 percent under former President Joe Biden.
“The Trump Administration’s so-called ‘golden age’ is only for the billionaires he’s enriching by gutting social programs. For everyone else, it’s the complete opposite,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. “He’s made our lives more expensive, our jobs market weaker, and our streets less safe. If we had to give Donald Trump’s economy a grade, it would be an F. Fail fail fail fail fail.”
Economist Dr. Andre Perry of the Brookings Institution warned that the trend reflects deeper systemic issues. “With every passing month, the burdens of the economy are being felt by proportionately more Black people. Who isn’t hired can’t easily be explained by education or willingness to work, which have become obvious racist tropes,” Perry said. He added, “Different rates across racial lines reveal past and present structural flaws in our economy. Uneven unemployment rates are also a tell-tale sign of who is not favored in an economy.”
Nationally, unemployment rose to 4.6 percent, its highest level since the pandemic began. Jared Bernstein, former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, called rising Black unemployment a warning sign. “That is, you know, really a tough sign for folks of color,” he said, noting that low hiring rates mean people are staying unemployed longer.
Policy experts continue to push back on Trump’s claims that his agenda would expand job opportunities. Angela Hanks of The Century Foundation said Trump’s “chaotic economic policies” and “attacks on the stability of our economy pose the greatest threat to Black workers.” She added, “Between rising unemployment rates and rising prices, Black workers are unfortunately feeling the brunt of Trump’s economy.”
Alphonso David of the Global Black Economic Forum echoed that concern. “The rising unemployment rate among Black people in the United States is the result of a shift toward misguided and regressive policies that reject the economic power and contributions of Black and historically marginalized communities,” he said.
Despite Trump’s repeated claims that immigrants are taking “Black jobs,” a Center for American Progress report concluded otherwise.
“Despite President Trump’s past sales pitches and current claims to the contrary, his policy agenda for the Black middle class has been a bait and switch,” the report stated. “These policies have the deliberate effect of erasing the Black middle class and making it unattainable for any future generation.”
