Black unemployment rises for second straight month, reaching highest level since pandemic

The rate of jobless Black Americans has hit 7.5%, further driving alarm among economists and advocates.

The Black unemployment rate spiked for another consecutive month, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In August, the number of jobless Black Americans climbed to 7.5%, up from 7.2% in July.

The unemployment rate for Black Americans is now at its highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2021, and the highest number in eight years when excluding job losses as a result of the pandemic.

“Black unemployment is now at a rate that would represent a crisis if it were the overall unemployment rate,” Angela Hanks, Chief of Policy Programs at The Century Foundation and former Department of Labor official, told theGrio.

“Black unemployment is often routinely double white unemployment, but the gap has been narrowing in recent years following the pandemic, as unemployment fell for all workers,” said Hanks, who added, “This jobs report concerningly shows that gap is widening, with rising Black unemployment disproportionately driving that gap.” 

The national unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.3% as a result of only 22,000 new jobs added to the job market.

“Once again, the proof is in the numbers: Donald Trump is the worst president for workers we’ve seen in generations,” said Julie Su, senior fellow at The Century Foundation and former acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor under President Joe Biden, in a public statement. “Donald Trump’s War on Workers may be playing well with his billionaire buddies, but it’s leaving everyone else less stable, less secure, and poorer.”

Critics of the president’s economic policies have blamed the increasing unemployment rates on his global tariffs and cuts to the federal workforce, among other actions.

“Trump told Black Americans that immigrants were a threat to their jobs. The truth is, it’s Trump’s own policies that are crushing opportunity,” said Brandon Weathersby, a spokesperson for the Democratic research firm, American Bridge 21st Century. “Families everywhere are struggling, and no one is feeling that failure more than Black workers, especially Black women, who continue to bear the brunt of his broken promises. Trump promised prosperity, but what he delivered is an economy rigged against the most vulnerable.”

Democratic strategist Joel Payne told theGrio, “The Trump economy thus far and his economic agenda say, at a minimum, that Black workers are not a priority.”

Payne said he is particularly concerned about the impact of the Trump economy on Black women, 300,000 of whom have lost their jobs since President Trump entered office for a second term. Black women have also been documented as disproportionately harmed by Trump’s massive cuts to the federal workforce, which included jobs related to or perceived to be diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

“That builds on, I think, over half a million Black women who have not returned to the workforce since the pandemic,” noted Payne.

The Democratic insider said the current struggles for Black workers are “somewhat predictable,” explaining, “[2024 Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President] Kamala Harris talked about this in her campaign.”

“Democrats talked about what Donald Trump was going to do. He was pretty transparent when caught on the hot mic a couple of times about who he was building this economy for,” said Payne, referring to Trump’s campaign promise to wealthy donors that he would make them “rich as hell.”

The Democratic strategist added, “He wasn’t building this economy for Black workers, and I think we’re seeing the result of that.”

Payne said the only way to “push back” on the economic reality for Black workers and others impacted by the downward economic trends is to ensure Democrats win back Congress in the 2026 election to “put a check on Donald Trump.”

Hanks of The Century Foundation said the latest jobs report is not the result of a “typical ebb and flow of economic cycles,” but rather a “direct result of the President’s agenda of raising prices and destroying jobs.”

She also warned that Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” law, which provides massive tax cuts for wealthy Americans and cuts funding to health care and social assistance programs, will make several industries “deeply vulnerable.”