Rep. Ayanna Pressley urges Fed chair to address Black women's unemployment as the figure rises

The Massachusetts congresswoman said Black women’s employment is a “key metric of the health of the U.S. economy.”

Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley is demanding Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell respond to alarming job numbers showing Black women bearing the brunt of employment losses, warning that their economic stability reflects the health of the nation.

A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report revealed a steep decline in Black women’s employment, with 319,000 fewer employed in July than in February. That drop pushed their unemployment rate up by 1.3 percentage points. Black men also saw an increase of 1.5 percentage points over the same period.

Pressley, in a letter sent to Powell on Tuesday, called on the Fed to “uphold its mandate” of pursuing maximum employment for all groups. She stressed that policymakers must track and publish detailed data on Black women’s job prospects to help prevent deeper setbacks.

“Black women are a key barometer of the U.S. economy,” Pressley wrote, highlighting that they are not only enrolling in college at rising rates but are also the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs and often serve as primary breadwinners. With job openings and hiring slowing since mid-2024, she warned Powell that the outlook was “a glaring red flag that spells danger for the entire country.”

In a Monday interview, Pressley reiterated her warning: “When the rest of the country gets a cold, Black folks get pneumonia.”

Independence of the Fed in question

Pressley also urged Powell to safeguard the central bank’s independence after President Donald Trump abruptly fired Fed Governor Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the board. Cook is now suing Trump, saying she was dismissed without cause.

To Pressley, Cook’s ousting and the removal of other Black leaders in federal institutions—among them Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. CQ Brown—represent what she described as “antiblackness on steroids.”

“This isn’t random,” she said. “It’s deliberate harm. It’s targeted. And eventually it won’t just affect Black leaders—it will touch everyone. The playbook is clear and predictable.”

Jobs slowing nationwide, but Black workers hit hardest

The U.S. economy added only 22,000 jobs in August, well below the 75,000 expected, while the overall unemployment rate rose to 4.3%—its highest point in eight years outside the Covid-19 crisis. By contrast, Black workers experienced a sharp jump to 7.5% unemployment, up from 6% in February.

Although historically higher, the Black unemployment rate had been stable around 6% since early 2022, even dropping to a low of 4.8% in April 2023, according to Gabrielle Smith Finnie, a senior policy analyst with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Systemic barriers and DEI cuts add pressure

Pressley argued that multiple factors are pushing Black workers further behind: the dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, widespread federal workforce cuts, and enduring discrimination in hiring.

“It’s a tremendous loss of innovation, expertise, and talent that Black women bring every day,” she said.

Smith Finnie added that shrinking entry-level opportunities and the growing reliance on artificial intelligence make it harder for Black workers to get hired or reenter the workforce.

Valerie Rawlston Wilson, labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute, noted that Black women are particularly vulnerable as they are overrepresented in DEI roles, which have faced disproportionate cutbacks.

The Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal workforce has also been costly. Around 70,000 government jobs have been shed this year, hitting Black women especially hard. They make up roughly 12% of federal employees—double their share of the broader labor force—so reductions in that sector are felt more acutely.

The unfinished work left behind

Pressley said she has spoken with women displaced from agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.

According to her, their first thought wasn’t about personal survival.

“They weren’t asking, ‘What will happen to my family?’” she explained. “They were asking about the work that won’t be finished—the grants for affordable housing that won’t be distributed, the medical research that won’t move forward, the elders preyed upon by predatory products who won’t get justice.”

For Pressley, the growing unemployment crisis among Black women is not just a community concern but a signal of wider economic fragility. And she insists the Fed must treat it as such.

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