Trump Claimed He Would Protect ‘Black Jobs.’ So Why Are Some Black Graduates Still Struggling To Find Work?

“Black jobs” became one of President Donald Trump’s signature campaign talking points during the 2024 election.

On the campaign trail and during several presidential debates, Trump repeatedly claimed undocumented immigrants were taking “Black jobs” from Black Americans, arguing that his immigration and economic agenda would help protect employment opportunities for Black workers.

Nearly halfway through his second term, Black Americans continue to experience unemployment at significantly higher rates than white workers. According to the latest Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Black unemployment stood at 6.6% in June, compared with 3.6% for white workers. Overall unemployment held steady at 4.2%, but employers added just 57,000 jobs in June, a sign that hiring has slowed.

The latest report comes as many Black college graduates say they are finding it more difficult to secure stable employment despite earning degrees and years of professional experience.

A tougher job market tests the promise of higher education

For decades, higher education has been viewed as one of the clearest paths to economic mobility. But for many Black graduates, that promise appears to be growing more difficult to realize.

A recent Washington Post report profiled Black women professionals who described submitting hundreds of job applications, spending months searching for work and piecing together consulting, teaching and freelance opportunities while trying to land full-time positions. Several said they had done everything they were told would lead to career success — earn degrees, gain experience and build professional networks — yet still found themselves struggling to find stable employment.

The experiences highlighted in The Post’s report, and echoed by many other professionals online, reflect deep concerns about the current labor market for Black workers.

What the latest jobs report reveals

The June jobs report offers one snapshot of the labor market, but experts say the overall Black unemployment rate doesn’t tell the whole story.

“The Black unemployment rate is an overall number, so it can stay flat even when certain groups of Black workers are struggling,” Cantrell Dumas, senior researcher at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, told Blavity.

Dumas said recent Black college graduates are entering “a slower, more selective hiring market,” where “a degree still matters, but it does not shield recent Black graduates from weaker hiring, fewer entry-level opportunities, or racial disparities in hiring and employment.”

The findings align with recent analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, which found that Black workers have experienced weaker employment during the first year of Trump’s second term, particularly Black men.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported that the labor force participation rate was 61.5% in June, while 1.9 million Americans had been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer. The agency also revised payroll gains for April and May downward by a combined 74,000 jobs, further signaling that hiring has cooled in recent months.

The takeaway

While the June jobs report alone cannot explain why some Black college graduates are struggling to find work, it provides important context for understanding their experiences.

As hiring becomes more competitive, Dumas emphasized that a college degree alone does not insulate recent Black graduates from a more selective job market or from persistent racial disparities in hiring and employment.