Black Unemployment Skyrockets After Coronavirus Economic Meltdown

Written by Caleb Wright

Met with repeated cals for the Fed to observe black unemployment closer when making policy decisions, the Black unemployment rate--previously at its lowest in history prior to the coronavirus shutdown--has skyrocketed to post-2008 levels. The growing concerns around the recent civil unrest after the killing of George Floyd have drawn attention to the matter of people of color in today's economy, and blacks are suffering the most from the coronavirus pandemic.

President Donald Trump repeatedly, ever since the pandemic, has called attention to the records set during his Administration in regards to black unemployment. Reaching about 6% (an all time record), black Americans were experiencing newfound economic prosperity since the recession in 2008, but that has been undone by the coronavirus.

Given that the economy experiences a "V-shaped" recovery that experts are presuming, an upfront matter going into the 2020 election cycle would be how fast the economy recovers, and, when Trump can begin to flaunt unemployment successes again.