President Donald Trump was prematurely given credit for creating 594,000 new jobs early last year. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump took to Twitter this weekend to gush over news of the historic drop in the Black unemployment rate.
Trump’s celebratory tweet came one day after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the rate fell below 7 percent for the month of December, the lowest it’s ever been for Black Americans since the bureau started tracking the numbers in the early 1970’s, according to NPR.
“The African-American unemployment rate fell to 6.8 percent, the lowest in 45 years,” the president tweeted Saturday. “I am so happy about this News! And, in the Washington Post (of all places), headline states, ‘Trump’s first year jobs numbers were very, very good.’ ”
The bureau’s report, released Friday, Jan. 5, showed that Black unemployment has been on the decline since October of last year. In August 2017, the unemployment rate stood at 7.6 percent but fell to just 7 percent by September. The rate crept to 7.3 percent the following month but took another dive in December, hitting the record low of 6.8 percent.
Nationally, the unemployment rate remained unchanged from November at 4.1 percent, according to the report, with the economy adding nearly 148,000 new jobs in December. Meanwhile the unemployment rates for whites, Asians and Latinos were recorded at 3.7 percent, 2.5 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively.
During his presidential campaign, Trump touted himself as the ultimate job creator for all Americans and has was even given credit for the 594,000 new jobs created during his first four months in office. This is despite the fact that all the positive gains in job creation over the past year were made routine under his predecessor Barack Obama — a Democrat.
“African-American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country,” Trump wrote in another tweet on Saturday. “The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history … Dems did nothing for you but get your vote! #NeverForget @foxandfriends”
African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country. The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get your vote! #NeverForget @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018
The president’s sharply worded critique comes just weeks after a major Republican loss in the Senate race in Alabama, where residents elected a Democrat, Doug Jones, for the first time in decades. More than 90 percent of Black Americans voted for Jones over Republican candidate Roy Moore, who faced numerous allegations of sexual assault/misconduct. Much of the support for Jones also came from Black women, 98 percent to be exact.
The record low unemployment rate for Black American also comes on the heels of a year strife with strained relations between Trump, those in his administration and the African- American community. The most recent controversy, which many considered to be racially charged, came after the president referred to NFL players as “sons of bitches” for kneeling during the national anthem to protest racism and police brutality.
Recent data from the Pew Research Center shows that only 10 percent of African-Americans approve of Trump’s job performance.
