While the national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.3% in March, there are plenty of yellow flags in the labor market. For one, we’re still in a low fire, low hire environment. And below the headline number, some of the data isn’t so strong. Exhibit A is the unemployment rate for Black workers, which at 7.1% in March, was nearly twice the unemployment rate for white workers.
“The Black unemployment rate has always exceeded other groups,” said Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “But what's different is that there's a bigger jump, and this is more sustained, and it's more long-running.”
According to Ajilore, policy is driving the jump. The DOGE cuts to the federal workforce were particularly painful.
“Federal employment has always been the key to the middle class and upper middle class for Black households, and the targeting of the federal workforce has had a measurable impact on Black households,” said Ajilore.
“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal spoke with Ajilore about what’s driving Black unemployment and what it says about the economy.
To listen to their conversation, click the play button at the top of the page.
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