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In December 2023, Biden’s record-low Black unemployment trended downward to 5.2% from 5.8% in the previous month. Over the year, the average unemployment rate for Black Americans hovered around 5.5 percent. It’s a record that had not been reached since the data was first recorded in 1972 and the lowest among all previous Administrations.
Councilmember Kirabo Jackson, a prominent member of President Biden’s three-member Council of Economic Advisers, attributes the positive outcome to the administration’s targeted interventions: the creation of clean jobs, increased support for small businesses, and intentional-targeted investments into Black America.
Notably, Councilmember Jackson is the first Black American man to hold this position.
Is Biden’s Record-low Black Unemployment Rate a sign his economic plan “lifts all boats”?
As a result of the record-low Black unemployment rate, the national rate holds at a historic 3.7%. Councilmember Jackson said it’s “the 23rd consecutive month in which we’ve had unemployment below 4%,” in an interview with The Black Wall Street Times. He adds, “When you have a job market like that, which you refer to sometimes as full employment, that tends to improve outcomes for everyone. It’s kind of like the tide that lifts all boats.”
Councilmember Jackson also highlighted that in 2022, wages surged, outpacing the modest inflation rate, with an impressive 4% year-over-year increase. He touted that the impressive growth translates to tangible, real wage increase, allowing American workers to stretch their paychecks further.
Wage Growth Outpacing Inflation
“Inflation for the past six months has been about 2%. Wage growth for the past six months has been about 4.3%. Wages are growing faster than inflation, which means that each paycheck is getting a little bit bigger,” Councilmember Jackson touted.
Collectively, payroll employment has increased by 14.3 million since President Biden assumed office, indicating that more jobs have been generated during this period than in any complete four-year term of any previous President.
Councilmember Jackson says the Administration still has much work to do on the economic front. The Biden-Harris Administration plans to focus on implementing lower health care and energy costs and eliminating junk fees.
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In December 2023, the US economy added a whopping 216,000 new jobs, and the unemployment rate stayed put at 3.7%. This was even better than expected, as experts were predicting a gain of only 160,000 jobs.
The latest job report figures and low Black unemployment record represent another positive development for the Biden-Harris Administration amid lower approval ratings typical during a presidential election year.
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