"The contributing trendlines have been deeply felt: soaring layoffs, caution in hiring, record levels of private debt, depressed consumer spending, a spike in jobless claims. In recent months, opportunity declines could be traced to certain sectors, but the employment crisis has bloated. Manufacturing is down, predictably hobbled by Trump's slapdash tariffs; trade and transportation are shedding gigs for the same reason;"
"The best that could be said for many other once thriving industries is that they didn't lose much-but they didn't grow substantively, either. And within the data, there's an especially dire indicator of where everyday Americans stand: the rise in the Black unemployment rate. The bureau's demographic breakdowns unambiguously demonstrate that these stunted economic conditions have fallen hardest on Black Americans."
August payrolls rose by only 22,000 jobs, marking the weakest five-year gain and pushing the national unemployment rate to 4.3 percent, its highest since 2021. Approximately 25 percent of unemployed workers have been seeking employment for six months or more, the largest share of long-term job-seekers in nearly a decade, and there are now more unemployed people than available openings for the first time since 2021. Layoffs, hiring caution, record private debt, weak consumer spending, and rising jobless claims have depressed opportunity. Manufacturing, trade, transportation, and even health care are losing momentum amid tariffs and looming Medicaid cuts.
Read at Slate Magazine
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