September 7th 2025.
It has been a tumultuous month since Donald Trump made the controversial decision to fire Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The first jobs report under the leadership of William Wiatrowski, a long-time figure at the BLS, has just been released and it paints a bleak picture for the American economy.
According to Yahoo Finance, the reason for this pessimism is the dire situation faced by Black workers, both male and female, since the start of the pandemic. The unemployment rate for Black men is currently at 7.1%, with Black women not far behind at 6.7%. These numbers are cause for concern, as economist Gary Hoover from Tulane University explains, as they often serve as indicators of the overall direction of the economy in the months to come.
But it's not just adult Black workers who are feeling the brunt of this economic downturn. The employment rate for Black teenagers, aged 16 to 19, is also at a worrisome 24.8%, far surpassing the general Black employment rate of 7.5% in August. This trend is troubling, according to Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, who sees the Black unemployment rate as a "canary in the coal mine" for the larger economy.
Ajilore also notes that Black workers are often the first to be let go during economic downturns, but are also the last to be hired back. This is further compounded by the fact that Black workers are overrepresented in the federal government, which has experienced significant turnover since Trump's inauguration.
As Hamden Dean, an expert in labor economics, points out, this decline in job opportunities for Black workers is not limited to one industry. "Across the board, you're seeing industries that employ large numbers of Black people either stagnating or declining," he says.
Black women, in particular, have been hit hard by this economic downturn. In August, their unemployment rate rose to 7.5%, a significant jump from the 5.4% rate recorded in January and the 6.7% reported by Yahoo Finance. According to Andre Perry, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, this can be attributed to a combination of factors, such as federal layoffs, the impact of tariffs on small businesses that hire Black women, and a lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in hiring practices.
Jessica Fulton, a senior fellow at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, adds that while federal layoffs do play a significant role in the high unemployment rate among Black women, it is not the only factor at play. "Black unemployment rates tend to rise more sharply and quickly than other workers' when the economy is heading into a downturn," she explains.
This situation is not just a matter of concern for Black women, but for the entire American economy. As Daniella Zessoules, an analyst at Dēmos, points out, Black women hold many jobs in key sectors of the economy, and when they experience job losses or barriers to employment, it is a clear indication of a larger systemic problem.
In light of all this, it is not surprising that more Black women with disabilities are turning to self-employment as a means of economic stability. The current state of the job market is a stark reminder that our economic system is failing and needs to be reevaluated to ensure equal opportunities for all.
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