Black Women’s Unemployment Rate Rising Disproportionately

Despite the GOP and President Donald Trump saying otherwise, the American economy ain’t doing so hot. Sadly, the adage that when white America catches a cold, Black people catch the flu is proving true, as Black women are disproportionately unemployed compared to the national average. 

According to Black Enterprise, the delayed September jobs report revealed that the unemployment rate for Black women increased from 6.7% to 7.5%. During that same time period, unemployment only ticked up from 3.2% to 3.4%. The general unemployment rate currently sits at 4.2%, though experts believe both numbers may be higher due to the delayed release of the September data. For reference, the unemployment rate for Black women is only 2.5% away from the general, peak unemployment rate reached during the 2008-09 recession. 

Rep. Ayanna Pressley has consistently been sounding the alarm bells about how what’s happening to Black women is a bellwether for the economy at large. Pressley sent a letter to the Federal Reserve, pressing them to do something to address the increase in Black women’s unemployment. 

According to AP, Pressley held a roundtable discussion about the issue of Black women’s unemployment. “Everyone is missing out when we’re pushed out of the workforce,” Pressley said during the discussion. “That is something that I worry about now, that you have all these women with specific expertise and specializations that we’re being deprived of.” She added that when Black women do find work, they usually wind up being “woefully underemployed.” 

Pressley and the participants in the roundtable pointed out how the actions taken by the Trump administration this year have contributed to the increase in Black women’s unemployment. Trump’s erratic tariff policy has particularly hurt small business owners. This has affected Black women in particular, as they have quickly become the fastest-growing group of small business owners in recent years. 

There’s more and more evidence that America is currently in a K-shaped economy, which means that the highest earners are making more and more while working-class and low-income people face more and more economic uncertainty. Despite no one officially declaring that we’re in a recession, when you compare the current economic climate to what was happening during the Great Recession, it’s getting harder and harder not to see the similarities. 

Layoffs have already surpassed 1 million this year, rivaling the numbers seen during the Great Recession. Car repossessions have surged at rates not seen since the Great Recession, and credit card defaults are reaching levels not seen since, you guessed it, the Great Recession. 

The uncomfortable reality is that the American economy is largely being propped up by speculative AI spending, which many experts are concerned is becoming a bubble. One consequence of having experienced a layoff myself is that I’ve become very invested in the world of finance, simply to understand why it’s so hard to find a stable job that pays well. Every time I’ve learned something new about the house of cards that is the American economy, my reaction is always the same: “Oh boy. Oh no. Wait, but how? How?! HOW IS THIS ALLOWED?” 

It’s incredibly clear that the economy is unsustainable and is already breaking down for those at the bottom. If the federal government doesn’t address the issue with urgency, we’re likely to be dealing with a financial collapse that could’ve been mitigated had we just listened to Black women. 

SEE ALSO:

Ayanna Pressley Addresses Black Women’s Unemployment

Unemployment Rate Remained Stubbornly High For Black Women In June