Some economists say increase might be related to recent job cuts in federal workforce
, Mosaic.NJ.com | August 7, 2025 | More Issues, Business
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The U.S. economy is holding steady this summer, but Black women are facing an ongoing trend of high unemployment.
For Black women, 20 years and older, the unemployment rate during July was 6.3%, according to the bureau’s July report.
This newly reported unemployment rate among Black women is a 0.5% increase compared to last month’s rate of 5.8%, according to the bureau’s report.
The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.2% — making up 7.2 million unemployed people — during the month of July, which is only a slight increase compared to the 4.1% unemployment rate in June, according to the bureau’s report.
The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4% to 4.2% since May 2024, according to a statement from the bureau.
From March to April 2025, Black women’s unemployment rate rose from 5.1% to 6.1%, representing the largest month-over-month increase among all gender and racial categories, The Root reported.
According to the bureau’s April jobs report, Black women lost an estimated 304,000 jobs between February and April of this year. However, the overall U.S. workforce added 175,000 jobs within that same period.
Despite Black women facing higher joblessness, some industries have seen job increases.
Last month, employment continued to rise in the health care and social assistance industries, but the federal government continued to lose jobs, according to a statement from the bureau.
Some economists believe the rise in unemployment among Black women might be directly related to the recent job cuts within the federal workforce.
Black women make up 12% of the federal workforce, which is the highest among other minority groups, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in its most recent report, in 2021.
Brian Thompson, a clinical professor of economics at DePaul University, told WTTW News, “There’s a perception when someone gets a government position, that’s a position you hold for quite some time. People tend to gravitate towards safety. I would also argue that it’s an area where they could potentially expect there to be diversity in selection of roles, and they would have a better opportunity to be promoted and so forth.”
President Donald Trump’s initiative to cut down the federal workforce continues, as his Office of Personnel Management proposed to the over 2 million federal workers to resign in exchange for pay and benefits until September, NPR reported.
The Trump administration also attempted to fire over 24,000 probationary employees, who make up recently hired employees and experienced workers with years in their fields, NPR reported.
According to the bureau’s July report, there have been 84,000 federal jobs cuts since January.
Besides federal job cuts, some experts think the rise in unemployment among Black women is linked to the diversity, equity, and inclusion rollbacks within the government and across different industries.
DEI policies — which have been around since the late 1960s — are organizational guidelines that seek to promote equal treatment for all people, particularly groups that have historically been underrepresented or discriminated against due to their identity and/or disability, the Arizona Republic reported.
During his first month in office, Trump signed an executive order to end all “radical and wasteful” government DEI programs.
In response to the Trump administration, numerous companies have removed their DEI initiatives, policies, programs and job positions. Some of those companies include Amazon, AT&T, Target, Google, Disney, McDonald’s, and Uber, the Arizona Republic reported.
With federal job cuts and DEI rollbacks, some experts also think that systematic racism and inequities in the labor market are playing a role.
Jessica Fulton, a senior fellow at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies –– a think tank focused on Black Americans –– told 19th News that any cracks within the overall economy always show up for Black workers first.
“Black workers, and particularly Black women, show up as a canary in the coal mine, giving a picture of what may happen to everyone else later,” said Fulton.
Vashti Harris is community and trending news reporter for Mosaic at NJ Advance Media. This story was first published by Mosaic.NJ.com.
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