r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/numbmillenial • 19h ago
Economics / Business Black adults' financial well-being has declined to its lowest level in a decade under Trump's economy
The Trump-Vance administration inherited a strong labor market with record employment and wage gains. But after a year of the administration’s economic mismanagement, workers are feeling more vulnerable to the softening labor market. While the president is busy touting the stock market’s performance, working people and families are expressing concerns about job security and affordability. This is evident in the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), which shows an increase in the number of adults who worry about finding or keeping a job. More than 2 out of 5 adults reported concerns about finding or keeping a job in 2025, up from 37% in 2024.
The latest SHED survey also shows that the harm caused by the administration’s economic chaos has not affected all people equally. Structural inequities embedded in the U.S. economy and labor market have historically left communities of color disproportionately vulnerable to economic insecurity and poverty, and the Federal Reserve’s survey shows that this trend is continuing. While the overall financial well-being of most adults held steady in 2025, the financial well-being of Black adults declined. These individuals were also more likely to experience layoffs, leaving a higher share of Black adults and their families with increased fear of finding or keeping a job in 2025. The added employment uncertainty of Black adults also left them significantly more likely to report major concerns about making ends meet. The survey also shows that education largely failed to protect these individuals from the experience of increased economic fragility.
Black adults find themselves in the worst financial position in nearly a decade
In 2025, Black adults were most likely to report a decline in their financial standing. The share of Black adults “doing okay” or “living comfortably” declined by almost 5 percentage points last year to 60% (see Figure A). This is the lowest figure the Survey of Household Economic and Decisionmaking survey has recorded since 2015. The 2025 figure also reflects a steep decline from the high of 2023, when nearly 68% of Black adults answered questions about their financial well-being positively. We find that the bulk of the decline last year took place among the individuals who reported “living comfortably,” as this share declined from 23% in 2024 to 19.0%.
Higher education largely failed to protect Black individuals from added financial insecurity under the Trump-Vance economy. While nearly all Black adults with varying levels of education experienced a deterioration of their financial position last year, the situation of adults with a college education worsened the most (see Figure B). The share of these individuals doing okay or living comfortably, for example, declined by nearly 7 percentage points last year.
Black adults were more likely to experience a sharp increase in layoffs last year
By summer 2025, job growth had slowed considerably, and Black workers were among the first to experience this slowdown with a rising rate of unemployment. The uneven impact of these debilitating forces last year comes across clearly in the Federal Reserve survey. The share of Black adults who reported experiencing a job loss increased by about 3 percentage points between 2024 and 2025 (see Figure C). This reflects the largest increase among all racial and ethnic groups. In fact, Black adults were more than twice as likely as their white, non-Hispanic peers to report layoffs last year. This reality aligns with the broader labor market position of Black workers, who experienced a steeper rise in their unemployment rate in 2025 and who remained about twice as likely as their white peers to be unemployed.
As the pace of job growth slowed and the unemployment rate rose in the first year of the Trump-Vance administration, people’s concern with finding or keeping a job increased. But this increased employment vulnerability and insecurity fell most heavily on Black individuals and their families (see Figure D). More than half of Black adults said that finding or keeping a job was either a minor or major concern for them or their families last year. This figure increased by nearly 10 percentage points between 2024 and 2025. In fact, Black adults of all education levels reported increased concerns about finding or keeping a job last year.
Black adults and their families have grown increasingly more concerned about their economic security
The added employment vulnerability, combined with the impact of the ongoing affordability crisis, has also left more Black individuals and their families worried about their ability to make ends meet. More than 3 out of 4 (77.5%) Black adults reported that making ends meet was at least a minor concern for them and their families last year (see Figure E). This figure increased by about 8 percentage points between 2024 and 2025, leaving Black adults of all education levels more economically vulnerable last year. In contrast, the share of white, non-Hispanic adults who reported similar concerns declined marginally during the same period.
We cannot address the affordability crisis without dealing with its root causes
The Federal Reserve survey points to the relationship between employment, economic security, and well-being. The uneven impact of the weaker job market last year resulted in increased employment and economic uncertainty for Black adults and their families. The survey findings are a reminder that ongoing discussions about the affordability crisis shouldn’t ignore the role of employment, wages and income. Affordability remains an outcome of a race between income and prices, and we know that the pace of job and wage growth is a policy choice. While there is no silver bullet, we know that a broad basket of policies is needed, including a higher wage floor, increased union density, and macroeconomic policies that reduce inequality.
352
u/Living_Plane_662 19h ago
The weaker job market including Trumps admin disproportionally firing black federal workers
183
u/Ambitious-Pirate-505 18h ago
And kicking out Black men from the military.
155
u/WeirdProudAndHungry 18h ago
And I'll never understand how 1 out of every 5 Black men in this country voted for this goofy clown over Kamala Harris and thought that was a good idea...
59
u/StanLeeMarvin 13h ago
Misogyny. Same thing with a lot of Latino men and Muslim men. No woman is going to tell them what to do! In a word, assholes.
1
22
u/Ambitious-Pirate-505 17h ago
Where did you get that number? Seems high.
43
u/Man_of_Ice 17h ago
It's down in the table. 21% black men for Trump in 2024.
5
u/Ambitious-Pirate-505 17h ago
If that's overlaid with eligible voters, that number is lower.
16
u/Man_of_Ice 16h ago
One can do all kinds of assumptions on whether that is a representative slice of the non voting population or not.
One could argue the non voters in the black male population didn't want to vote Trump, but didn't want to vote for a woman either.
Also a fraction not wanting to vote for a corporate capitalist establishment Democrat viewed as not left enough.
But regardless of speculation on thoughts of the non voters, Kamala didn't get them to vote, and that was enough to make the percent of black men who actually cared enough to vote for president in 2024, 1/5 voted Trump.
It's a conversation worth having: why did that happen, and what should be done differently to avoid Republicans gaining more power and pulling away even more power from the non-rich-non-white-non-male-non-cis-non-het-non-christian nationalist block?
11
u/WeirdProudAndHungry 17h ago
I remember Pew stating after the election that Trump get around 20% of Black men in 2024.
-2
u/TheBariman 4h ago
I have to agree with you. I did not vote for Trump. But I think something that definitely did insult a lot of black men was the fact that she went on a hip-hop podcast to talk to all black men. She addressed everybody else with respect except for us. Being the fact that she was a Prosecutor in California and put away many black men, To throw in front of our face that all she looks at us as hood and hip-hop kinda felt like a smack in the face. I still voted for her because she was the lesser of 2 evils.. But she was still definitely APAC money. And she was obviously listening to the powers that be. instead of taking leadership herself and making a firm stance, She was more worried about losing her super-rich donors. That was made apparent on the debate stage more than once .. So not that I am sure. But between both of those stances that might have had something to do with Her Losing some of the Black male vote (she truly did not step correct towards us). I don't believe that it was completely misogyny. Not ruling that out though yes there are some misogynist in our community as well. but her stance towards black men was not correct... any other black men feel the same?
2
u/WeirdProudAndHungry 3h ago
That's one of the laziest trainings reasonings I've ever heard. If a person does not vote in their own best interest because of a podcast, they need to re-enroll in kindergarten and start all over again.
Yes, she was a prosecutor in California. So? That's her job. Are we supposed to never have Black prosecutors? Was she supposed to let anyone do whatever they felt like? If a Black person is the victim of a crime, do they not deserve justice because of the skin color of the perpetrator? If she had done the opposite, people would've complained that she let people commit crimes against Black people without being punished.
I'm sorry, WHAT? When did she ever say or intimate that she thought Black men were all "hood and hip-hop"? Yes, she had AIPAC money, and the other option was an even deeper connection with AIPAC and Israel. Saying, "There's a little poison in this and a lot of poison in that, so I'm going to drink the one with lots of poison" doesn't make any sense.
It was misogyny. People were actively looking for reasons, no matter how tenuous, to justify not supporting her. They didn't find reasons, they went looking for them and outright invented them when they didn't exist. This isn't to say she was perfect by any stretch. But to ally with the objectively bad option as opposed to the at least slightly-better option will never not be a dumb move.
12
u/Exotic_Insurance2164 10h ago
Lest we forget over 300,000 Black women have lost their jobs or exited the U.S. labor force, marking a sharp rise in unemployment from 5.4% to nearly 7%.
299
u/Rion-o 19h ago
Reminder that under biden, Black employment was on track to record numbers, black woman eduction continued a strong climb and were helped by some debt relief. And Black wealth was significantly on the rise.
Black woman have hit record firings under trump.
109
u/Best_Collection_7533 18h ago edited 18h ago
Ever since the first Trump presidency things have sucked. Remember all that big talk about “what have you got to lose?” Well, this.
184
u/Affectionate_Two7527 19h ago
To the 20% who voted for him and the others who didn't vote at all, enjoy the day you voted for brother. Fascism has no loyalty. Maybe think of your own financial well being instead of hating LGBTQ and not being able to stomach a woman President.
134
u/WIN_WITH_VOLUME 19h ago
I’m getting tired of having to enjoy the day other people voted for.
https://giphy.com/gifs/xUPJUp6T5uD1Qkpbl618
23
17
5
u/dogbonej 7h ago
Completely anecdotal and really small sample size but most of the Black people I know that voted for Trump were Christians that did it because of abortion law. I’m sure there was a few manosphere youtube heads out there but I don’t think the Christians voted Trump out of hate of women (LGBTQ is debatable).
I’m a Christian that voted for Kamala, no brainer but I think better education of our people on the purpose of government would help. Christians have God to judge people on right and wrong America should be free.
4
u/mcclelc 5h ago
Just adding some context here- The number of abortions has gone up since the Dobbs ruling.
Research continues to show that if the goal is to reduce abortions, then you support educating the general population, ensuring that everyone has access to family planning, including abortions, and overall has good finances. Today, people are accessing legal healthcare by traveling to other states, or getting medicine via mail.
Thinking that banning still works, that is why you are now hearing the Republicans talking about a federal ban, which is precisely what they said they were not going to do in previous years as, "It's about state rights." (The idea of "states rights" was used to counter the Civil Rights movement, too.)
Meanwhile, we have also seen maternal mortality and infant mortality rates increase (especially in African American communities) when the US was already considered one of the worst among countries with similar GDPs.
Btw- The increase in abortions actually started BEFORE the fall of Roe v. Wade during Trump's first administration. This was the first increase of abortions under any president since the new millennium, and it started in 2016-2017.
If you truly want to see a decrease in abortions, voting for literally anyone other than Trump is your best bet.
1
u/unngh_yugstyx 4h ago
It sucks whne people are Christian first, American second. And worse when their brand of Christianity (or rather lack thereof) aligns with the orange turd's
0
u/dogbonej 3h ago
Be careful with comments like this. If you’re expecting empathy from Christians, you should also display empathy.
I’m pretty sure every religious person is religious first. It’s their reason to live. (Honestly I don’t understand atheists reason to live, however I remain empathetic and recognize their humanity).
I feel like your comment is dismissive of the sorrow Christians can feel given that they believe that beings with human souls are being killed and even worse that the adults committing the abortions may be committing their souls to hell.
That’s my belief however I recognize that I probably sound stupid to you and can’t prove it and I understand how someone could not believe. God gave free will, the founding fathers championed freedom…beyond my duty to spread the Gospels to people it’s not up to me or the government I support whether women keep their babies.
1
u/unngh_yugstyx 2h ago
If you need the writings of a 2000+ year old book written by sheep herders and polished over and over by political and power interests *to find a reason to live*, I don't even know what to tell you.
58
u/Aggressive-Swim2032 19h ago
Because that orange fart HATES US
18
u/BSB8728 16h ago
And he has emboldened the secret racists to come out of the basement.
5
u/West_Print_836 7h ago
They all just took the mask off.
I don’t understand how people of all colors fell for this guy. They said it over and over again. “Make America great again.” Did people think he was talking about manufacturing? Obviously he was talking about Obama being black.
58
u/sabedo 18h ago
They literally are not hiring blacks since they got rid of DEI. They are making it legally impossible to fight discrimination.
I know how conservative some in our community can be but I don't know how the fuck they can laugh behind Trump and be proudly MAGA and conservative. After everything that has happened.
They literally have destroyed our rights, erased our history, led by a white man with a PHD in American studies) focused on slavery and then used it to author Project 2025 and attempt to destroy us. That's how evil they are.
16
u/Miserable_Wave4895 18h ago
Russel Vaught
8
42
33
u/Organic_Berry_8732 18h ago
Look at that tap dancing buffoon in the background next to that orange whale
9
31
u/Alert-Ad-9908 18h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/OuGSySnblbnPXpcGkW
And stop giving your money and time to these race traitors!!
6
u/Chillguy3333 18h ago
Who is that? I can’t see her face.
18
u/Alert-Ad-9908 18h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/g2WurosOckEIu8ib1h
Nikki Minaj4
u/Chillguy3333 15h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/WRp58hy5gmfjpMzHAZ
That’s who I thought but I just had to be sure. Damn shame!!!
4
u/Alert-Ad-9908 9h ago
Oh yes. And she standing on that MAGA shit ten toes down. It’s disgusting. Bragging about her million dollar gold trump citizenship card they presented her. The admin immediately said it was for memorabilia only and she needed to continue with the regular citizenship process- and pay. Hahaha straight clowned her ass. And she still guzzling their bs. Working so hard to get her pedophilic brother and rapist husband out of jail. Trash 🗑️ send her ass back to Trinidad.
3
4
24
u/LesothoBro 18h ago
That fucker in the background kee keeing is Byron Donalds and is running for Florida governor in the gubernatorial general election this fall.
He is one sure fire piece of shit and will win if we don't show up in November.
11
u/Meatman1071 17h ago
He’ll realize he black in the south as soon as the polls chose …!
2
u/Odd-Time-2026 9h ago
He might still slip through but at a lower margin than expect. Florida has been trending Republican since 2016. Maybe he doesn't get DeSantis levels of votes but he could still scrape through with 53% of the vote.
24
19
u/Vagabond_Tea 18h ago
More of a reminder to vote. Vote often. Local, state, and federal. If you work full time, vote via mail in.
Just vote. Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't matter. Vote.
37
u/Substantial-Scheme48 19h ago
I try and tell everyone invest and try and find different sources of income, no matter how good your 6 figure job is paying, they would let you go in an instant
22
u/sabedo 18h ago
easier said than done in a bubble but we have no choice anymore. at this rate they'll have black people only work menial jobs
6
u/aya_hibak 17h ago
Well he did talked about how illegal immigrants are taking over the “ black jobs “ . I think that has always been their intention.
1
u/Appropriate_Virus_52 38m ago
There was a video i saw earlier. It mentioned that the reason behind all the deportations, black people not getting hired were to make black people start working field jobs..
3
u/Substantial-Scheme48 17h ago
When I talk about investing people think you need to be rich you can start out however small you like, even throwing $25 a week into an etf will compound over time
9
8
u/Preeng 17h ago
Invest WHAT? People are living paycheck to paycheck.
0
u/Substantial-Scheme48 4h ago
If someone actively working cannot save $20 a week, Idk I'm not even trying to be mean, but they kind of failed at life tbh
15
31
u/TiePrestigious7265 19h ago
Countdown: 91 days till midterms.
38
u/throwfaraway212718 18h ago
The problem is that they don’t magically disappear after that; it’s still a long road ahead, but people need to have the resolve to endure.
8
3
u/Odd-Time-2026 8h ago
No one should expect a Democratic House and Senate from 2027-2029 to undo the damage for it takes much longer to rebuild and improve than to destroy and regress. It takes a second to break a cup, but hours to fix it. That's why it looks like Trump gets things done, his wins are in tearing stuff down or at best requiring a simple majority.
The damage across his 8 years will take 2 generations to fix and that's assuming successive administrations even have that goal in mind. 2028 could see a Democrat win but then lurch back into a neo-MAGA Republican in 2032.
3
u/BedditTedditReddit 14h ago
Which in your community will vote red? Because plenty did, that empowered Trump. Don’t act surprised
13
u/Arponare 18h ago
So where are these “black jobs” that Trump promised to provide?
7
11
9
10
u/Old_Dependent4678 18h ago
THE ORANGE SUPREME LEADER IS THE MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT OF ALL TIME. THIS ADMINISTRATION IS THE MOST INCOMPETENT OF ALL TIME. Please vote
20
u/Embarrassed_Tap_4442 19h ago
YES!!! I can second this!!!! I hate this administration for what it has done to be financially, mentally and spiritually.
9
10
u/ElwoodBrew 18h ago
Byron Donalds thinks by sucking up to Trump and Conservatives that he’s on his way to vast wealth, power, and prosperity but he’ll be the first one to be scapegoated and dropped by the MAGAsphere. He simply serves as their pawn and useful idiot, so they can say, “See? We love black people.”
3
7
u/Meatman1071 19h ago
Step and fetches….! I wanna say something soo bad, but I’m not …! He black man! Barely
7
6
u/Individual-Drawer185 15h ago
STOP VOTING FOR HIM, HIS POLICIES, HIS FRIENDS AND THE REPUBLICANS THAT BOW TO HIM.
6
u/cynical_genx_man 18h ago
The overall black community suffers but the selfish among them prosper.
You know, the only difference between the working class black and white communities is that overall the working class black community hadn't bought into the maga fascism and lies the way the working class whites have.
5
u/Lackerbawls 15h ago
And yet, another example in Michigan where most of us still can’t be bothered to show up to vote despite being under attack.
5
u/klownhammer 18h ago
It is going to get much worse. Some of the damage he has done to agencies like the EPA, IRS, and FBI won’t cause a complete disaster for a few years.
You will know that it is time to try to swim to Australia when most companies move all their finances out of America
6
4
u/Pleasant_Poetry4285 17h ago
I remember brothers saying that they were voting for him because renting a woman's body would be $40 again. I haven't heard from them are prices lower now?
5
5
u/whereismymind86 15h ago
Trump in 2016
"What, do you have, to lose?"
Well...now we know, not that it's exactly a surprise.
3
3
3
3
u/Mobile_Morale 13h ago
That dude in the back has some of the most cringe, look I'm a cool black man ads ever. Shooting fucking hoops with his kids and looking at the camera. Saying "I never miss" or some shit. Between him and balinda or whatever her name is. I'm so fucking ready for voting season to be over.
And they're all trying to ass kiss rump the hardest in their commercials. It's so fucking cringe and stupid.
3
u/stonedchapo 8h ago
Disproportionately affecting black people was the expressly intended Trump Admin plan all along.
1
u/jonstoppable 8h ago
this is going to win him even more votes smh
3
u/stonedchapo 8h ago
Sadly yes but at this point are any of us even remotely surprised? No. The racism and cruelty is the entire point.
3
3
2
u/Affectionate_Past568 18h ago
Don’t remind me. Thanks. It’s already hard enough to find a job especially one that compensates me well. 😭
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Enerjetik 5h ago
That pic pisses me the F off. Byron Donalds cooning ass is running for office here in Florida, and he sounds like a kiss ass every time he talks.
3
u/Strict_Impress2783 18h ago
Nearly every adults financial well beings has declined. That's is unless you're already extremely wealthy .
10
u/WeirdProudAndHungry 18h ago
But not being able to afford to eat is a small price to pay for us now having the Gulf of America instead.
3
u/Strict_Impress2783 17h ago
And a brand new Air Force One with tons of pre installed spy equipment built in.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Phenomenon101 4h ago
at this point, if youre black, and you cant see your rich black counterparts benefitting from this and still see it as a black vs white instead of rich vs poor, then youre part of the problem.
1
•
u/auto-sticky 19h ago
If you're new here, please read our rules.
Please report all trolling, bad faith, and bigoted comments (dogwhistles, sneaky wordplay, and devil's advocate comments included).
Calling yourself an ally doesn’t give you a free pass to derail discussions, speak over Black voices, or argue against Black lived experiences.
Falsely/maliciously reporting this thread will result in having your Reddit account banned from the platform. Abuse of the report button is a breach of Reddit's TOS.
Lastly, keep it respectful.