--- title: Rising Unemployment Among Black Women Is a Bad Economic Sign description: "Black women are the canary in the coal mine on the health of the economy," write Marianne Cooper and Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman. canonical: https://time.com/7315624/rising-unemployment-black-women-economy/ author: Marianne Cooper article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-09-09T16:58:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T13:34:26.343Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Rising Unemployment Among Black Women Is a Bad Economic Sign og:description: "Black women are the canary in the coal mine on the health of the economy," write Cooper and Opoku-Agyeman. og:url: https://time.com/7315624/rising-unemployment-black-women-economy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte513b1c30afcc12e/6998c99f9fbc7c33dcd9a65a/empty-purple-chair.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Empty Purple Chair og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rising Unemployment Among Black Women Is a Bad Economic Sign twitter:description: "Black women are the canary in the coal mine on the health of the economy," write Cooper and Opoku-Agyeman. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte513b1c30afcc12e/6998c99f9fbc7c33dcd9a65a/empty-purple-chair.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  IDEASTime ideas # Rising Unemployment Among Black Women Is a Bad Sign for the Economy by [Marianne Cooper](https://time.com/author/marianne-cooper/) and [Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman](https://time.com/author/anna-gifty-opoku-agyeman-2/) Marianne Cooper is a sociologist at Stanford University where she conducts research on gender, women’s leadership, and the future of work. Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman is a public policy doctoral candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the author of The Double Tax. Sep 9, 2025 4:58 PM UTC  A digitally generated image featuring one distinct chair among a group of identical chairs, symbolizing leadership, uniqueness, and the value of diverse roles in teamwork. This minimal yet powerful design represents individuality within a team, making it ideal for business strategy, leadership development, and organizational culture visuals. A digitally generated image featuring one distinct chair among a group of identical chairs, symbolizing leadership, uniqueness, and the value of diverse roles in teamwork. This minimal yet powerful design represents individuality within a team, making it ideal for business strategy, leadership development, and organizational culture visuals.akinbostanci—Getty Images by [Marianne Cooper](https://time.com/author/marianne-cooper/) and [Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman](https://time.com/author/anna-gifty-opoku-agyeman-2/) Marianne Cooper is a sociologist at Stanford University where she conducts research on gender, women’s leadership, and the future of work. Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman is a public policy doctoral candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the author of The Double Tax. Sep 9, 2025 4:58 PM UTC On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released revised preliminary benchmarking data showing that close to a [million](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/prebmk.nr0.htm) fewer jobs were added to the U.S. economy in the 12 months ending in March 2025—only about half as many jobs were added as previously estimated. To be sure, the American economy is on [shaky ground](https://time.com/7314881/jobs-report-bls-trump/). And [worries](https://time.com/7308973/danger-trump-undercutting-bls/) that the White House may censor or manipulate data if it reflects badly on President Trump’s policies adds to the unease. As it stands, recent numbers are not good. Only [22,000](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit%5F09052025.htm) jobs were added in August, much lower than expected, and job growth [stalled](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit%5F09052025.htm) sharply this summer. In the first decline since 2020, 13,000 jobs were lost in June. On top of this labor market weakness, the reliability of the government’s economic data is in jeopardy. Claiming that last month’s unimpressive jobs numbers were “[rigged](https://www.factcheck.org/2025/08/no-evidence-for-trumps-claims-of-rigged-or-phony-job-numbers/)”, President Trump abruptly fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner and nominated [E.J.](https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1RXQR%5FenUS1165US1165&cs=0&sca%5Fesv=a1754dd2adcb8a92&sxsrf=AE3TifPFlWhI-4QFXs-sLYFHaYacmAeXWw%3A1755097976134&q=E.J.&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiYs%5Fy6iYiPAxUfETQIHR9NCuIQxccNegQIBRAB&mstk=AUtExfApGf8%5FPtvj5Lf%5Fbfetp1aKuaHf0MM2cKn9sEFcLoz1-aukKPGnTy-CVVFY1Jld-u%5FPiBCZuaroc6SIENMbsdcSx7nV94F0M24YUvm-UBQrQbQeITsS7In2JLnraEHr-2MbfsOI056vWb5YUYioP71Jr9-Ddor0pG4jWmGrjTah%5FyURj-f3mKX3rmMpehRjDo6o6xM78ynrfngBGrf8TLD-T0K-EuN7jXcXmJELxkmwb8f2ewdNZ6HrBCDUDAMw-inyGKf4AJRbMsrLEn9QweIGqGnQTzfNl%5FcVafY-KclFn-hEUiFlxzSlb8g45sBtp8P5k9BUh7UETXxsk8lZTsIMzH1NQgyFXBQp1JYrQ5FLbJ19d3uEiyoolhnwL9vfNw&csui=3) [Antoni](https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1RXQR%5FenUS1165US1165&cs=0&sca%5Fesv=a1754dd2adcb8a92&sxsrf=AE3TifPFlWhI-4QFXs-sLYFHaYacmAeXWw%3A1755097976134&q=Antoni&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiYs%5Fy6iYiPAxUfETQIHR9NCuIQxccNegQIAxAB&mstk=AUtExfApGf8%5FPtvj5Lf%5Fbfetp1aKuaHf0MM2cKn9sEFcLoz1-aukKPGnTy-CVVFY1Jld-u%5FPiBCZuaroc6SIENMbsdcSx7nV94F0M24YUvm-UBQrQbQeITsS7In2JLnraEHr-2MbfsOI056vWb5YUYioP71Jr9-Ddor0pG4jWmGrjTah%5FyURj-f3mKX3rmMpehRjDo6o6xM78ynrfngBGrf8TLD-T0K-EuN7jXcXmJELxkmwb8f2ewdNZ6HrBCDUDAMw-inyGKf4AJRbMsrLEn9QweIGqGnQTzfNl%5FcVafY-KclFn-hEUiFlxzSlb8g45sBtp8P5k9BUh7UETXxsk8lZTsIMzH1NQgyFXBQp1JYrQ5FLbJ19d3uEiyoolhnwL9vfNw&csui=3) to the top job. Antoni, who once [ran](https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/05/politics/kfile-ej-antoni-bureau-of-labor-statistics-twitter-account-vis) a Twitter account featuring bigoted attacks and conspiracy theories and who economists across the political spectrum say is [unqualified](https://www.axios.com/2025/08/12/trump-bls-ej-antoni-economists), has suggested [suspending](https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/12/economy/antoni-bls-mulls-suspending-jobs-report#:~:text=Even%20so%2C%20scrapping%20the%20monthly,The%20PNC%20Financial%20Services%20Group.) the Bureau’s monthly job report altogether. With economic data hanging in the balance, perhaps one of the best economic indicators we have left is Black women. Black women are the canary in the coal mine on the health of the economy. Because they are disproportionately concentrated in economically vulnerable sectors like retail and services, a steep rise in Black women’s unemployment is a red flag for what’s to come for the rest of the economy. They're one of the first groups to show the signs of economic distress that later squeezes other groups. ## Black women are the canary in the economic coal mine During the Great Recession, Black workers were the hardest hit in the labor market, experiencing the [highest](https://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2012/recession/pdf/recession%5Fbls%5Fspotlight.pdf) unemployment rates throughout the downturn. As the crisis unfolded, massive job loss spread across the board. And while other populations started to recover, Black women [continued](https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/blackadultunemploymenttwoyearsrecovery%5F-%5Faugust201.pdf) to lose jobs even after the recession was said to have officially ended. The COVID-19 recession saw a similar pattern. Black workers once again experienced record job loss. Despite historically low unemployment rates in March 2020, the unemployment rate for Black women surged between February and May, reaching [16.5%](https://www.epi.org/publication/covid-19-inequities-wilson-testimony/)—one of the highest among all groups, second only to Latina women. Soon after, [the entire country experienced](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/06/11/unemployment-rose-higher-in-three-months-of-covid-19-than-it-did-in-two-years-of-the-great-recession/) unprecedentedly high unemployment rates. Beyond government data, Black women continue to sound the alarm that the economy isn’t serving them nor their communities. At the start of the pandemic, Black women were the [most](https://media.sgff.io/sgff%5Fr1eHetbDYb/2020-05-07/1588873048615/the-coronavirus-is-a-financial-crisis-for-women%5F1.pdf) likely to be worried about losing their jobs and paying their bills. They were right to worry. Over two years later, the unemployment rate for Black women remained [elevated](https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/nwlc%5FBlackWomen%5FRESILIENT%5FFS.pdf) (5.3%) while unemployment for women overall had returned to February 2020 levels (3.1%). Black women, as it turns out, are often the first to get hit by a crisis and the last to experience the spoils of recovery. This double whammy reflects the compounding costs of racism and sexism. As Anna reports in her forthcoming book, [_The Double Tax_](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734115/the-double-tax-by-anna-gifty-opoku-agyeman-foreword-by-chelsea-clinton/), Black women are [overrepresented](https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/Black-women-vulnerable-work.pdf#:~:text=Black%20women%20earned%20the%20least%20on%20average,percent%20in%20occupations%20where%20they%20were%20overrepresented%29.) in precarious jobs characterized by low wages, little security, and few benefits and [underrepresented](https://www.nelp.org/insights-research/occupational-segregation-of-black-women-workers-in-the-u-s/) in the highest paying careers. Even in good times, Black women have [lower](https://cdn-static.leanin.org/women-in-the-workplace/2024-pdf) promotion rates, receive the [least](https://cdn-static.leanin.org/women-in-the-workplace/2024-pdf) managerial support, and are typically paid [less](https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/EPD-FS-2025-Black-3.18.25v2.pdf) than white men with the same or even lower levels of education. In bad times, this “Double Tax” exacts an even worse toll because systemic inequalities put Black women in the eye of the economic storm. As a result, their economic experiences function as a nationwide early warning system, revealing shifts in the economy even before they appear in broader statistics. ## How the economy is impacting Black women right now So what is happening with Black women right now? While we still have access to reliable data, signs indicate the economy is headed in the wrong direction. In the spring, unemployment among Black women started rising, spiking from [5.1%](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit%5F04042025.pdf) in March to [6.7%](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf) in August, while the unemployment rate of most other demographic groups saw smaller increases or held steady. Because Black women are [overrepresented](https://www.epi.org/blog/disinvestment-in-the-public-sector-undermines-opportunities-for-black-women-across-the-south-trump-cuts-further-threaten-key-services-for-working-people-across-the-nation/) in public sector jobs, the Trump Administration’s [massive cuts](https://time.com/7225555/trump-mass-layoffs-federal-workers/) to the federal workforce have likely contributed towards over [300,000 Black women](https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/business-culture/300000-black-women-left-labor-force-3-months-s-not-coincidence-rcna219355) leaving the labor force between February and July. Except for the pandemic, Black women have not seen such staggering job [loss](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/31/us/politics/trump-federal-work-force-black-women.html). Reflecting these employment statistics, Black women are reporting high levels of financial concern. A [recent survey](https://www.thehighlandproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Spring-2025-Poll-of-Black-Women-Voters%5FvF.pdf?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com) by the Highland Project found that the percentage of Black women saying economic conditions have worsened in the last year skyrocketed, increasing from 40% in 2024 to 87% in 2025\. Concerningly, the survey also found that over half of Black women (54%) are worried now about routine and rising bills, an even higher percentage than were worried during the height of the pandemic (44%). This sudden increase in unemployment and financial worry among Black women is not a coincidence. It’s a pattern we’ve seen in recession after recession. And it’s one we should not ignore. History shows that Black women’s experiences provide a timely and accurate window into the earliest economic cracks that eventually reach the rest of society. By paying attention to Black women, policymakers can spot downturns faster and respond sooner, limiting the damage. That’s why governmental policies geared towards addressing the needs of those who are hit first and hardest by a crisis, in the end, benefit everybody. Early warning signs are only useful if listened to. Let’s not miss the one Black women are sounding yet again. [TIME Ideas](https://www.time.com/ideas) hosts the world's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. We welcome outside contributions. 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