BLACK JOBS CRISIS DEEPENS AS UNEMPLOYMENT SPIKES

By Rob Redding

Editor & Publisher

NEW YORK, March 6, 2026, 8 p.m. — Black workers were rocked by the latest jobs report as unemployment surged and two major job sectors kept cutting positions at a pace that has analysts warning of a widening crisis.

The Black jobless rate jumped to 7.7 percent in February, the highest of any major group and a sharp rise that wiped out months of gains. Black women were hit even harder. Their unemployment rate climbed from 6.4 percent in January to 7.1 percent in February, according to the National Women's Law Center. The spike is one of the steepest one month jumps in recent years.

The damage is concentrated in manufacturing and the federal government, long seen as reliable paths to middle class stability. Both sectors have been shrinking for more than a year, with combined losses topping 330,000 jobs since late 2024. Black workers make up a large share of those workforces, and the cuts have landed squarely on communities already facing higher unemployment.

Manufacturing payrolls slipped again in February, continuing a months long slide. Federal employment also fell, extending a historic downsizing that has hollowed out agencies and erased once dependable career tracks.

Labor experts say the warning signs are growing harder to ignore. Some describe the trend as a slow moving crisis tightening around Black workers while the broader economy sends mixed signals.

Economists are watching the next few months closely to see whether the damage stabilizes or deepens into a longer downturn for Black Americans who have yet to see a full recovery.

Rob Redding is the author of No. 1 best selling book Black Power in the Age of Artificial Supremacy Featuring Redding-Shim Kwet Yung . He is the bestselling author of 18 books. He is the host of Redding News Review Unrestricted and creator of ReddingNewsReview.com. He is also an emerging visual artist who lives and teaches at two colleges in New York City.