Trump Economy Sets Third Straight Month of Record Black Unemployment Rates
The unemployment rate for black Americans continued to tumble in October, hitting a new record low.
The black unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the lowest level of black unemployment since 1972, USA Today reported.
The measure of economic opportunity for black Americans set a then-record low of 5.5 percent in August, and matched that record in September before dipping even lower in October.
“Black unemployment rate another historic low at 5.4% that’s the lowest since they’ve been keeping records.” pic.twitter.com/5sb5zycKwS
— Trump War Room (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TrumpWarRoom) November 1, 2019
October also set a record for black men above the age of 20, with a rate of 5.1 percent.
The previous record low of 5.3 percent was set in 1973. October’s unemployment rate for black women over 20 was 4.8 percent.
The overall unemployment rate also included youth unemployment of black Americans aged 16 through 19, which was at 19.2 percent, down from 22.2 percent a year ago.
The overall black unemployment rate was at 8 percent when Trump was elected in November 2016, according to federal data.
President Donald Trump touched upon the new record during a Friday night rally in Tupelo, Mississippi.
“If I would have said during the campaign that I would create 6.7 million new jobs since the election, these people would have gone crazy. They would have said horrible things. They would have said it’s impossible,” Trump said.
“Unemployment has reached the lowest rate in over 51 years, soon to be historic. African-American unemployment just dropped to the lowest rate ever recorded. Historic,” Trump said.
Trump can expect little praise from liberals, but one commentator said the drop in black unemployment is directly related to the jobs being created in the Trump economy.
“As jobs continue to be created, those who were still looking for work, those like minorities with historically higher rates of unemployment, are the ones in position to take advantage of those opportunities,” Valerie Wilson, director of the program on race, ethnicity and the economy for the Economic Policy Institute said in September when the August rate had set what was a record at the time, according to CNN.
Others also praised the achievement.
Black unemployment is at the lowest it’s ever been. Hispanic unemployment is at the lowest in decades. He freed thousands of African Americans that were imprisoned for petty crimes. He’s done more for blacks then Obama himself did
— DJ Joe Effect (@DJ_Joe_Effect) October 31, 2019
Unemployment for African-Americans is at an all-time record low for the last 3 months. There is still much work to do to address inequality, but the lowest unemployment ever is good news for America. https://t.co/jSNnIkkxej
— Rep. Don Bacon (@RepDonBacon) November 2, 2019
Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia put October’s record in the context of the overall economic growth.
“The unemployment rate remains near a 50-year low. More than 300,000 Americans entered the labor force in October, leading to a slight uptick of the unemployment rate to 3.6%.
“This marks the twentieth consecutive month in which the unemployment rate has been at or below 4%. It is also encouraging to see another record low unemployment rate for African-Americans,” Scalia said in a statement.
“Once again, Americans are receiving more money in their paychecks, as year-over-year wage growth rose by 3.0%. Wages have grown at or above 3.0% for 15 straight months, including September’s increased revision,” he said.
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