Why rising Black unemployment should worry us all
And the way the U.S. labor market is looking there might be reason to believe that is happening.
Greetings, This Is America readers, Phillip M. Bailey here.
There are plenty of reasons the job market is being called resilient, but a noticeable crack has emerged among Black Americans, who have reached their highest level of unemployment since the COVID-19 pandemic days.
The jobless rate for hit 7.2% in July among Black workers, up from 6.3% a year ago and 6.8% the month before, according to the most recent jobs report. It's a troubling sign mainly because historically speaking Black people are often hit first economic downturns.
"The Black unemployment rate is always the first to go up. That's always the canary in the coal mine, Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told USA TODAY.
For more on what's happening in the U.S. economy, check out the USA TODAY Network's coverage:
Trump's political war in Texas is escalating
Don't take your eyes off Texas and their attempts to redraw congressional maps.
This is a fight that could determine the future of Donald Trump's presidency, but also one that might open up a larger conflict among Democratic and Republican-controlled states.
Prompted by the prospect of losing control of Congress, the president wants a rare mid-decade redistricting in Texas, where Republicans have come up with boundaries for U.S. House districts that could give the GOP five more seats.
Now more than 50 Texas Democratic legislators have skipped town to break quorum, and Trump's allies want to send the FBI after them in order to bring them back to Austin, the Lone Star State's capitol.
Both parties are portraying this as a battle for the future of the country that could expand to other states, as Trump administration officials -- namely Vice President JD Vance -- visited Indiana to urge Republicans there to do the same thing as Texas.
Asked if any agreement had been reached on making new maps for the Hoosier State, Gov. Mike Braun said "we listened."
Don't forget blue state governors in California, Illinois and New York are thinking about adopting this same strategy, which ultimately will make Congress even more divided.
Thanks for reading! See you back next week with more stories of justice from across the country. You can find me on social @phillipmbailey.
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