Black Unemployment Reaches Highest Levels Since Covid

Housing prices have soared since the 1990s, especially in cities where efforts to curb urban sprawl have centered limiting land use. This “smart growth” approach has meant more expensive land, more demand for limited city services, and housing prices outpacing wages for urban workers.

In July, the Black unemployment rate reached 7.2%, the highest since October 2021, when it was 7.8%. On the same day the agency’s report came out, President Trump called out the Bureau of Labor Statistics, complaining the numbers had been “rigged” to make him look bad.

The president then fired the head of the Bureau, Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, appointed by President Joe Biden. Trump also accused McEntarfer of faking job numbers to influence the 2024 election.

It’s worth noting that the Black unemployment rate of 5% during the Biden administration was the lowest ever. The Trump tariffs and the firing of thousands of federal workers, many of whom are Black women, have been cited as two reasons for July’s high unemployment rate.

The president has paused some tariffs, and there have been some callbacks to federal work offices, but it remains to be seen whether that will help reduce the unemployment rate.