Africalivenews.com | Washington, D.C. | August 7, 2025 – The unemployment rate among Black Americans in the United States has surged to a troubling 7.2% as of July 2025, the highest figure recorded since October 2021 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This stark statistic, released by the U.S. Department of Labor on August 1, stands in contrast to the national average jobless rate of 4.2%, raising urgent concerns among economists and civil rights advocates.
The data paints a grim picture for Black communities, particularly Black women, who have experienced the brunt of recent job losses. Over 300,000 Black women have lost their jobs in the first half of 2025 alone, according to labor economists tracking the fallout from recent federal policy changes and economic trends.
Experts say the numbers reflect not just economic turbulence but a targeted rollback of diversity and inclusion efforts under the leadership of President Donald Trump.
A Warning Sign for a Weakening Economy
Historically, Black workers in the U.S. have served as economic indicators for looming recessions due to their overrepresentation in temporary, contract, and low-wage employment sectors. When the economy begins to contract, these workers are typically the first to be let go.
“Black workers, and particularly Black women, show up as a canary in the coal mine, giving a picture of what may happen to everyone else later,” said Jessica Fulton, a senior fellow at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
Fulton and other experts point to a combination of systemic inequality and recent federal policies that have undermined employment prospects for Black Americans. Notably, President Trump’s aggressive tariff regime has led to rising costs for businesses, forcing many to pause hiring or cut jobs outright.
Recent reports by the U.S. Federal Reserve suggest that small businesses, particularly those that employ a significant number of Black workers, are being squeezed by supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures caused by tariffs on imports from key trade partners.
“This could very well be the early signs of another recession,” Fulton added. “And Black workers are once again the first to feel its effects.”
Trump’s Crackdown on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
Since returning to office, President Trump has made it a top priority to dismantle federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. From his first day back in the Oval Office, he signed executive orders aimed at eliminating DEI departments across federal agencies—a move that has not only impacted public institutions but has also reverberated throughout the private sector.
Major U.S. corporations, including tech giant Meta, retail chain Walmart, and fast-food titan McDonald’s, have followed the administration’s lead, scaling back or entirely eliminating their DEI programs.
“By vilifying DEI, the government is sending a strong message to corporations that prioritizing racial equity in hiring is no longer necessary,” said Andre Perry, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Community Uplift at the Brookings Institution.
Perry warns that these actions have helped normalize an “antagonistic posture against the Black workforce,” undermining decades of progress in workplace inclusion. The resulting atmosphere of fear and regression, he says, has discouraged employers from hiring Black workers, especially women, and contributed to the alarming rise in joblessness.
“Employers are second-guessing whether promoting diversity could be seen as political or controversial. That hesitation costs jobs,” Perry said in an interview with Bloomberg.
Federal Job Cuts Target Black Workers
Perhaps most troubling for many Black Americans is the shrinking of the federal workforce—a sector where Black employees have historically found better representation and career growth.
Since his inauguration, President Trump has embarked on an aggressive campaign to cut down what he calls “wasteful government spending,” leading to massive layoffs across federal departments.
In a widely criticized move, the administration shut down the U.S. Department of Education, claiming that education policy should be handled entirely at the state level. The closure impacted tens of thousands of educators and administrative staff—roughly 30% of whom are Black, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Other agencies, including the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Health and Human Services (HHS), have also experienced deep staffing cuts, further reducing job opportunities for Black professionals.
“The layoffs at the federal level, where Black people are more represented, the impacts of tariffs on small businesses that hire Black women, and the overall use of DEI as a slur—all of these factors are probably at play,” Perry emphasized.
A Broader Civil Rights Concern
Civil rights organizations have raised alarm bells, saying the rising unemployment among Black Americans is not just an economic issue—it’s a civil rights crisis.
“This administration’s policies are reversing hard-earned progress in racial equity and job access,” said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. “We are witnessing an intentional erosion of the systems that were put in place to protect Black workers from discrimination and exclusion.”
Morial urged Congress to intervene by launching an investigation into the administration’s DEI rollbacks and their broader social impact. So far, however, federal lawmakers remain largely divided along partisan lines, with Democrats expressing outrage and Republicans backing the president’s austerity agenda.
What Lies Ahead?
As economists continue to analyze the July job numbers, many are warning that the situation could worsen if current policies remain unchanged. The Biden-era job recovery momentum, particularly for Black and Latino communities, appears to have stalled.
“We are in a very fragile moment,” said Fulton. “If nothing is done, we risk a full-scale regression in racial economic equity.”
Grassroots organizers across the U.S. are now calling for urgent action, including stimulus support for Black-owned businesses, federal job guarantees, and the reinstatement of DEI programs across all sectors.
For many Black Americans, the question is no longer whether the economy is working for them—but whether their place in it is being deliberately erased.
Africa Live News will continue to monitor this developing story.
