Yvette D. Clarke, Lawmakers Press Dept. Of Labor On Rising Crisis Among Unemployed Black Women

Signed by 19 co-sponsors, the letter included data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), highlighting the striking decline of Black women being employed over “any demographic group,” rising from 5.1 to 6.1% in April 2025 alone.

Black women on Capitol Hill, like Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), are seeking answers from the U.S. Department of Labor on ways to address the growing unemployment crisis facing Black women.

In a press release, Clarke, along with fellow Democratic lawmakers Reps. Robin Kelly (IL), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ), and Ayanna Pressley (MA), who are members of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls (CCBWG), sent a letter to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Acting Director Loretta Greene putting pressure for immediate action on addressing the unemployment epidemic effecting the group at the hands of the Trump administration.

Signed by 19 co-sponsors, the letter included data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that highlighted the striking decline in Black women’s employment over “any demographic group,” rising from 5.1 to 6.1% in April 2025 alone. “These numbers represent more than statistics — they reflect a crisis of economic displacement for thousands of mothers, caregivers, and heads of households. Yet even as these losses mount, the federal government’s capacity to fully understand and address them is shrinking,” the letter reads.

“The BLS, a cornerstone for reliable data on employment trends, has faced sustained budget and political attacks that risk undermining its ability to provide accurate, disaggregated information on race and gender. Without dependable data, policymakers cannot see or respond to the full scale of the challenges facing Black women workers.”

While an MSNBC headline read “300,000 Black women have left the American workforce in three months,” Forbes alleges there is more to the story and highlights the hidden differences. Employment rates for the group plummeted by nearly 318,000 jobs between February and June 2025. But the amount officially leaving the workforce was much smaller and mirrored a different time frame.

As President Donald Trump labeled 2025 as the start of America’s “Golden Era,” it hasn’t looked great for the workforce, especially for Black women, since he took office for the second time. The unemployment numbers for the demographic went from close to 557,000 in March 2025 to nearly 700,000 by July. The numbers shocked career strategists like Andrew McCaskill since Black women are among the most educated in the country. “Black women have some of the highest educational attainment rates, yet they’re losing jobs at roughly twice the rate of white and Asian women. That’s a red flag,” he said.

“If the economy can’t absorb highly skilled Black women—many concentrated in the public sector—how will it absorb anyone else? Their losses reveal cracks in the very industries meant to anchor stability.”

McCaskill’s thoughts mimic the letter signed by Clarke and other lawmakers. The group’s demand includes a review of the “troubling” trends and to work together on “a comprehensive assessment of their impact on Black women in the workforce, and determine what remedial actions may be necessary.”

Clarke specifically wants to regain the importance of “accurate, disaggregated labor data on Black women and other underrepresented groups” in addition to pinpointing policy actions to regulate the disproportionate job losses for the demographic. “Black women’s labor has long been the backbone of our classrooms, hospitals, and communities,” the letter read, seeking a response by Dec. 15.

“To ignore the economic crisis facing them now would be to disregard the very foundation of our nation’s progress.”