What it means to have a ‘Black job’ in America

When former President Donald Trump last week reasserted his unsubstantiated claim that immigrants are “taking Black jobs,” the phrasing once again became internet fodder.

When former President Donald Trump last week reasserted his unsubstantiated claim that immigrants are “taking Black jobs,” the phrasing once again became internet fodder. On social media, typically accompanied by the #blackjob or #blackjobs hashtags, people (including celebrities) shared their “Black job,” pushing back on perceived racial stereotypes and xenophobic rhetoric. Trump later clarified, during his interview at the National Association of Black Journalists, that “Black jobs” applies to all jobs held by Black Americans and others, and that he was raising the alarm on potential employment risks. Still, the discussion comes as Black workers have made significantly positive — and, in many cases, historic — employment advancements. They’re also occurring at a point when the labor market appears to be at an inflection point. “This is the greatest economy that we’ve seen for Black people in our lifetimes and, arguably, ever, but there are still significant inequalities,” said Algernon Austin, director for race and economic justice at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “Unemployment rates are very low, employment rates are high, wages are high, income is high, poverty is low, wealth is high. Those are great, but all those measures still have significant racial gaps and a lot of work that needs to be done.” In February, the employment-to-population ratio for Black prime-aged workers (25 to 54 years of age) matched an all-time high of 78.6% that was set in April 2020, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In July, that rate was 77.9%.