Black Unemployment Is Surging in Trump’s Overhaul of US Economy

In his first term, President Donald Trump frequently touted record-low Black unemployment. Now, it’s rising at the fastest clip since 2020.

The unemployment rate for Black Americans has shot up by 1.5 percentage points over the last three months, a rare development outside of recessions. At 7.5%, it’s once again twice the rate for White Americans, erasing the progress made in narrowing the gap over the last three years.

Two factors have combined to create such an outcome, researchers say: First, a slowdown in the broader labor market is playing out in the usual fashion, disadvantaging Black workers who tend ...