The rate of unemployment for Black Americans was previously on the rise, according to the latest federal data.
Released Thursday, the report was conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Per the report, in the first half of 2026, the unemployment rate for Black Americans rose to 7.3% by April. The percentage marked a 0.6% increase from the percentage recorded in June 2025.
Since then, the unemployment rate for Black Americans shifted, remaining stagnant at 6.6%. For white Americans, the unemployment rate largely remained the same. Whereas the unemployment rate was 3.6% in June 2025, it remained unchanged at 3.6% in June 2026.
A number of civil rights organizations have been sounding the alarm on the unemployment rate of Black Americans. Although they have been outspoken since 2025, the National Urban League released a new statement on Saturday warning that, for Black Americans, they are already in a recession.
In their report, they highlighted that, by November 2025, the unemployment rate for Black Americans soared to 8.3%, marking a rate that was considered the highest since the pandemic. As of now, the unemployment rate for Black Americans still remains over twice that of white Americans.
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies also declared a recession for Black Americans, starting from 2025.
“Instead of aggressive leadership in dismantling structures of racial inequality, we are witnessing regressive leadership that is slashing government employment and agencies designed to address predatory economic practices that disproportionately harm Black communities,” said the authors.
The authors are referring to cuts to federal positions. Under the current administration, the job cuts disproportionately affected Black workers. Per the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, nearly 12% of federal workers are Black women, specifically. Since the beginning of the current administration, approximately 300,000 Black women were no longer part of the workforce, taking early retirement or being placed on indefinite leave in both private and public sectors.
Before the cuts, data from the Legal Defense Fund showed that Black workers made up more than 18% of the federal workforce.
As a result of the job cuts, Dr. Kesha Moore, Research Manager at the Legal Defense Fund’s Thurgood Marshall Institute, emphasized the lasting economic impacts.
“The impact of this is not only relegated to the people fired. It’s going to have a collective impact that is unequally distributed by race and place,” says Dr. Moore per the LDF. “Beyond the economic circumstances of particular individuals, there will be a tangible impact on the generational wealth of many Black families.”
According to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, as of 2026, the median net worth of the average Black household was approximately $44,100. In comparison, the median net worth for the average white household was $284,310.
