Highest Jump in Almost Five Years
Last Sunday President Donald Trump got into a Twitter tiff with Jay-Z, bragging that his policies have driven the unemployment rate among Black Americans down to a record low rate.
Two days later, during his State of the Union Address, President Trump again bragged about the unemployment rate among African Americans.Â
“Something I’m very proud of: African American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded,” Trump bragged.
That’s false.
It is true that Black unemployment in December hit the lowest number it’s been at in years – since 2001 – but it’s the result of policies President Barack Obama instituted – not President Trump – as this chart makes clear:
Don’t expect President Trump to tweet any time soon about Black unemployment. It just skyrocketed.
The unemployment rate for Blacks in America jumped from 6.8% to 7.7%, nearly a full percentage point higher. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Black unemployment has not increased in a single month that much since 2013, nearly five full years ago.
CNN’s Keith Boykin noted the jump just after the jobs report came out Friday morning.
Journalist April Ryan, a frequent administration critic, also noted the increase, slamming White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in the process:
Republicans have been attacking Democrats for not standing and applauding when Trump talked about unemployment in the Black community during the State of the Union. It’s important to note that Democrats are just as happy about good unemployment news as anyone else, certainly for Black people in America. When one segment of America does well, hopefully all segments do well – although Trump’s policies favor the wealthy, and trickle down economics is a fraud.
But President Trump didn’t do anything to improve unemployment specifically for Black people in America, and taking credit for it is outrageous. If it weren’t, he would take blame for the increase – which he never will.
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