Unemployment rates across the nation are rising among Black Americans, but particularly for Black women. Some economists say it is concerning because many Black Americans have been barely getting by for decades.
According to the most recent U.S. Labor Department jobs report, the unemployment rate for Black Americans in July was 7.2%, up from 6.3% a year ago. The rate for Black Americans is nearly twice the total unemployment rate, which is 4.2%.
Within the Black unemployment rate, Black women have seen a significant increase in unemployment since last year. It went from 5.5% to 6.3% nationwide. Although the most recent data for the area is unavailable, economists say the rise in the unemployment rate in the St. Louis metropolitan area for Black Americans typically mirrors the national rate.
Researchers have found that many Black St. Louisans are living in the red by the end of the month, and over the past few decades, reports show they are working harder and not being compensated accurately, said Bill Rogers, vice president and director of community development research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
“Take those plus some other challenges families are facing, and then you layer on a bout of inflation that these families have experienced, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back,” he said.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis serves the Eighth District, which includes all of Arkansas and parts of Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Mississippi.
Rogers said that in April 2023, unemployment rates were at their lowest, and Black women in the Federal Reserve’s Eighth District and at the national level saw the same level of unemployment.
“Subsequently, since then, it's risen to my estimate for July of this year, it's now 10.7% for Black women in the Eighth District states, and for comparable estimates for Black women nationally, it was 4.2% back in April 2023, now up to 7.8%,” he said.
According to census data, Black women in the St. Louis region in 2023 had a 6.8% unemployment rate.
African Americans are often the first group of people who are affected when the economy takes a downward turn. Rogers said Black Americans with no more than a high school diploma are at the lowest rung of the ladder.
“When the economy starts to slow down, many of the occupations and industries in which Black people are concentrated in — retail, trade and sales — they're the last ones to get hired as the economy strengthens,” he said.
Data shows that hiring is falling off and layoffs are continuing to rise. Over the past few months, thousands of federal workers were placed on administrative leave or laid off. The Trump administration forced private companies, colleges and universities and federal agencies to do away with their diversity, equity and inclusion programs in order to receive federal dollars. And many Black Americans held jobs within the diversity sector and within the federal government. Black Americans make up 18% of the federal workforce.
In the metro area, there are over 23,500 federal workers who could be impacted by future job cuts. Many work at Scott Air Force Base, which employs about 13,000 people, more than 5,000 of whom are civilians.
Rogers said the data shows that some women are leaving the labor force while others are still sticking it out and looking for more opportunities. He added that job openings have decreased, but they have not moved to recessionary-type levels.
As jobs continue to wane in various sectors, the St. Louis region might begin to see more Black Americans move out of the region, said Ness Sandoval, a professor of sociology and demography at St. Louis University.
“You might see African Americans leave the region and look for opportunities,” Sandoval said. “Especially the professional class that have the ability to leave, they will probably look at Kansas City, they’ll look at other markets where those opportunities are still available.”
He added that although it is too early to tell the magnitude of the impact of doing away with DEI and jobs with a heavy presence of Black Americans, the region can anticipate losing residents to Atlanta or Charlotte because of what those cities offer.
In the Eighth District, Rogers said the data is suggesting that Black men are still looking for jobs as well, but what is most discouraging is that for Black men and women between 16 and 24 who have no more than a high school diploma, their unemployment rate has jumped to over 15% in the last few months.
“The hope is that these are people going back and trying to get into school or training,” Rogers said. “But again, research has shown that that's not always happening when you see the unemployment rate rise and these young people leave the labor force.”
