Now, on the first anniversary of Trump’s chaotic second term, a Washington think tank reports that the president’s policies have pushed the Black community into an economic downturn. According to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies report, Black unemployment has reached recession levels, with the rate for young Black people more than four times the national average. “During the first year of Trump’s first term, Black unemployment declined by almost a percentage point,” Asante-Muhammad says. Last January, when Trump took office, the Black unemployment rate was around 6%, according to the report, compared to the overall U.S. unemployment rate of 4%. By December 2025, the report states, the unemployment rate for Black workers had jumped by nearly a full percentage point to 7.5%.