By David L. Snelling

Miami – Blacks are experiencing an uptick in unemployment in comparison to whites who were able to find work or hold on to their jobs in 2024 and the early part of 2025, according to the Hidden Agenda, a non-profit organization that helps train Blacks in entrepreneur skills.

In addition, more Blacks were terminated or laid off than any other racial groups during the President Biden-era, after companies cut ties with employees to save money, while inflation and the lingering effects from the COVID19 pandemic forced businesses to shut down stores or go out of business altogether.

According to Business Insider, at least 13 retail brands announced store closures in the U.S. last year, totaling up to 2,055 locations.

Family Dollar is the largest chain, planning to close at least 600 stores in 2025, Walmart and TJX are also closing some stores.

U.S. retailers have announced more than 7,100 store closures through the end of November 2024, a 69 percent increase from the same time in 2023.

About 32 percent of the workforce were from the Black community.

From January 2024 to January 2025, African American men over the age of 20 saw unemployment rates increased from 5.4 percent to 6.9 percent.

During that same time period, unemployment rates for white workers increased by 0.1 percent.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 1973 to 2018, on average unemployment rates for different racial groups- Black, white, Hispanic and Asian citizens, African Americans had the highest unemployment rate each year.

It peaked at 19.5 percent in 1983.

Among men above the age of 20 over that period, Black men were the most likely to be unemployed.

The national Black-white unemployment ratio for 2024 remained stable at 2-to-1, but Black workers are still twice as likely to be unemployed as their white counterparts, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

An EPI study found that Black and Hispanics employment reached an alltime high in 2023, accompanied by faster wage growth over the past four years.

But inflation, store closures and budget cuts drove Blacks to unemployment in 2024 at 6.9 percent nationwide.

And it may not improve with President Donald Trump dismantling DEI programs for federal governments and the private sectors, as more Blacks seeking employment may have a difficult time.

Trump’s decision to roll back on DEI policies in the federal government will also directly impact Black Americans and other minorities, specifically those working federal jobs.

In addition, companies are already moving to hiring at recession rates, and Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada will decrease US employment overall by 0.11 percent, according to the National Black Worker Center Project.

The non-profit was designed to unite Black workers throughout the nation to mobilize and provide resources needed to take on systems of oppression.

Steven Pitts, a board member of the National Black Worker Center Project, believes that high unemployment rates for Blacks are caused by a lack of ability to influence public policies and achieve economic freedom.

“You build the most power when people are actively participating in shaping their own lives,” Pitts said in a statement.

Pitts is also a part of the project’s first initiative, ‘Working While Black,’ which was launched in 2016.

It consists of multimedia stories focusing on local campaigns for Black workers to have access to higher-quality job opportunities.