December 1, 2025
The Crisis Facing Black Workers and America’s Economy
Black workers have lost jobs at an alarming rate.
Written by C08
Black people in America are facing an employment crisis, one that the Trump administration helped to create and deliberately worsened. Early promises of “efficiency” and “cutting waste” have instead masked an orchestrated assault on Black workers and on the fundamental truth that a diverse workforce strengthens our economy.
Since the start of 2025, Black workers have lost jobs at an alarming rate, and new employment opportunities have been scarce. Although the shutdown has ended, the delay in new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics means we are still operating without a full picture of the labor market. But what we do know is that Black unemployment climbed this year to its highest level since 2021, when the country was still in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Behind every data point are families struggling to pay rent, graduates entering a stalled job market, and entrepreneurs watching years of work evaporate.
At the same time, the nation faces a widespread labor shortage. Sidelining Black workers deepens that shortage, slows productivity, and leaves employers without the talent urgently needed. Black households also drive more than $2 trillion in consumer spending, meaning every job loss drains essential demand from the broader economy, an impact clearly visible in this year’s Black Friday performance.
This is not abstract: Black Friday is the most consequential consumer weekend of the year, when retailers, restaurants, and small businesses depend on household purchasing power to stay afloat. When Black workers lose income, they are forced to pull back on spending, and that contraction reverberates across sales floors, service industries, supply chains, and revenue streams nationwide. Further, as a result of the administration’s policies and corporations’ misguided reactions to them, many Black people are choosing to divest from entities that support policies that are anathema to the well-being of Black communities.
As leaders of legacy civil rights organizations, we will not be silent while this Administration wages an economic war on the Black community and dismantles a federal workforce that has long served as a pathway to stability and mobility for Black communities. Pushing Black workers out of the labor market not only harms families, it also weakens the American economic engine upon which businesses — small and large —depend on during the most crucial shopping period of the year.
The Assault on Black Jobs:
In recent years, Black people in America experienced some of the best economic conditions in generations. With lower unemployment and poverty rates, median Black household wealth reached the highest level on record. While these gains have been blunted by rising wealth inequality, cost of living issues, and long-standing barriers to opportunity, it offered the possibility of stability and progress.
That momentum has been reversed. The Trump Administration’s first assault was the elimination of federal diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs, which were rebranded as “divisive” or “woke,” and was followed by the termination of thousands of federal employees because their roles touched or were perceived to involve equity or inclusion. Then, the administration gutted agency staffing, leaving hundreds of thousands jobless. During the nation’s longest government shutdown, at least seven different agencies tried to lay off more than 4,000 federal employees[5], in violation of well-established law.
For decades, the federal government has served as a ladder to economic success, building a strong Black middle class for workers shut out of the private sector. Removing Black workers from federal roles shrinks that pathway and strips critical capacity from an economy that already cannot fill open jobs.
The damage is not limited to the public sector. Under pressure from opponents of civil rights and the Trump Administration, many corporations have abandoned the commitments they made in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd. Over 2,600 employees working on corporate diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives have been let go. Even more employees may find their opportunities diminished as corporations end programs that helped level the playing field and the Trump Administration halts efforts to address workplace discrimination.
Black Women Hit the Hardest:
Black women have borne the brunt of these attacks. Between February and July of this year, Black women lost 319,000 jobs across the public and private sectors, the only major group of women to experience such a significant loss. These cuts hit crucial roles in education,
healthcare, and community service, where Black women serve as essential pillars. Black women are among the nation’s most educated, entrepreneurial, and economically productive groups. Their job losses don’t just destabilize families; they weaken the broader economy, reduce small business growth, and shrink community buying power.
The Next Generation Blocked:
The administration has also attacked programs that provide pathways for new graduates to serve their communities, particularly at organizations that advance racial justice. For decades, programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) have been essential in attracting graduates to roles in government and nonprofits by promising debt forgiveness after a decade of service. This program has already brought relief to over 1 million public service workers, many of whom are Black. But new Department of Education rules threaten PSLF eligibility for employers deemed to be engaged in “illegal activity,” including advancing racial equity, LGBTQ+ rights, or immigrant protections. This move discourages young professionals from entering public service at a moment when communities desperately need teachers, nurses, social workers, and first responders. Black graduates, who carry higher student debt burdens, will be disproportionately pushed away from these careers.
A National Economy at Risk:
The Trump administration promised prosperity. Instead, jobs are disappearing, costs are rising, and pathways to stability are closing. For federal employees, corporate workers, entrepreneurs, and recent graduates, the dream of economic security is slipping out of reach.
The prosperity of Black people in America is inseparable from the prosperity of the nation. When opportunity for Black workers is blocked, the entire economy slows, with fewer services, less innovation, and weaker growth.
This year’s Black Friday made clear the simple reality: that reducing Black employment directly weakens one of the country’s most powerful consumer bases and dampens economic momentum when it matters most.
Now is the time for lawmakers and corporate leaders to reverse the assault on the Black workforce, restore programs that advance equal opportunity, protect public service employment, and rebuild a federal workforce that truly reflects and strengthens the nation.
When we fight for Black workers, we fight for America’s economic and democratic future
RELATED CONTENT: Rep. Ayanna Pressley Pushing For Action To Address Unemployment Rate For Black Women
C08 a coalition of 8 current, legacy civil rights leaders who work to address contemporary issues, to support the work of lawmakers, advocates, and communities across the country.
National Urban League
National Action Network
National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
National Council of Negro Women
NAACP
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
