Black Unemployment Jumps to 7% in September, Raising Labor Market Warning Signs

Black unemployment rose to 7% in September from 6% in August, the largest monthly increase since the pandemic's onset, the Labor Department reported. Overall unemployment ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%. The 1-percentage-point jump in the Black rate was the sharpest since 2012 outside the pandemic. Black women 20 and older saw unemployment rise to 6.8% from 5.6%; Black men rose to 6% from 5.6%. White unemployment was 3.6%, Asian 2.9% and Hispanic 4.7%. The report stunned forecasters: employers added just 29,000 jobs, far below the 76,000 added a year earlier, with downward revisions to prior months. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett called the data "cause for concern," saying the cause would be studied closely, citing possible seasonal and occupational factors. Economists attributed the Black rate partly to more workers re-entering the labor force, federal downsizing and a healthcare hiring slowdown. Gavin Newsom's cited disproportionate layoffs among Black workers in prior downturns underscore recession risk.