TheGrio asks President Trump about racial disparity in Black labor report

“We’re doing very well with the Black jobs, African-American jobs,” the president told theGrio inside the Oval Office a day before Friday’s monthly jobs report is released.

While announcing his administration’s $700 million investment in producing more coal energy in the United States, theGrio asked President Donald Trump about the rise in Black unemployment since he took office and the persistent racial disparity.

“We’re doing very well with the Black jobs, African-American jobs,” the president told theGrio inside the Oval Office a day before Friday’s monthly jobs report is released. “We saw some numbers that we’re doing really well.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the national unemployment rate has remained steady at 4.3%, the Black unemployment rate is nearly double, at pandemic levels, at 7.3%. Black Americans make up 13% of the U.S. population, and yet, for generations, have disproportionately faced barriers to employment and higher-waged jobs.

Three years ago, in April 2023, under President Joe Biden, Black unemployment reached a historic low at 4.8%. Since Trump returned to the White House, the Black jobless rate has steadily climbed.

As theGrio previously reported, economists say Trump’s policies — banning DEI, slashing federal jobs, and cuts to federal programs — have contributed to the U.S. economy’s uneven hardships for Black Americans.

Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told theGrio that over the past year and a half, federal job cuts have been steady month to month. Other factors include the impacts of Trump’s tariffs on global importers, which have significantly affected the manufacturing sector, which, the economist notes, typically hires many Black men.

“Think about transportation, warehousing, industries, manufacturing, things like that,” he tells theGrio. “But the primary thing is just the targeting of the federal employment. That’s kind of been driving it.”

In the Oval Office, Trump told theGrio that the White House’s Wednesday announcement of investments in coal plants and the auto industry will bring more jobs to Black communities.

“What we’re really going to do well is when all these plants are open, you know. We’re building many car plants. We’re bringing cars back from Germany. We’re bringing, you know, we lost the car industry years ago. 54% of the industry went to Germany, Japan, Canada, Mexico,” said Trump.

“It’s all coming back. It’s amazing,” the president continued. “And where your Black worker is really going to do well is when those factories open. So, I think they’re going to be great. We’ve, we’ve been doing well. It’s been a big focus for me.”

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Despite the president’s pronouncements, the coal industry has been in decline since 2008. It remains to be seen if Trump’s new actions will make any meaningful difference. Utility companies have also been using coal to produce energy for data centers, which have faced criticisms for polluting Black communities, among other environmental harms.

In addition to less access to jobs, Black Americans are disproportionately feeling the economic impacts of Trump’s war in Iran and his global tariffs, which are driving up inflation, mortgage rates, and the costs of everyday goods.

“There is a level of disgust Black Americans have with the prioritization of this presidency, especially when it comes to more endless wars,” said Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross. “Black Americans are seeing a consistent lack of resources in their communities, and are told that we just don’t have the money.”

She added, “Meanwhile, we’re spending billions of dollars a day in a war of choice from this president.”