In a recent roundtable discussion at a predominately Black church in Detroit, former President Donald Trump claimed that President Joe Biden “has done nothing for you except talk” and touted his record on African American unemployment and poverty rates during his presidency. Trump stated that he achieved “the lowest African American unemployment rate and the lowest African American poverty rate ever recorded – ever, ever recorded – during my four years.”
However, a fact check reveals that while Trump’s claims were true when he made them before Biden took office, they are no longer accurate. Record lows for Black unemployment and poverty rates set during Trump’s presidency were surpassed by new record lows under Biden.
The official data shows that the record low for the Black or African American unemployment rate, 4.8%, was set under Biden in April 2023, beating the Trump-era low of 5.3% in August and September 2019. The most recent Black unemployment rate in May 2024 stands at 6.1%, still historically low. Additionally, the record low in the official poverty rate for Black individuals, 17.1%, was achieved under Biden in 2022.
It is important to note that economic figures, such as unemployment rates, are influenced by various factors beyond the actions of the president. The spike in Black individual poverty to 17.2% in 2022, for example, was attributed to the expiration of pandemic relief initiatives that had previously lowered the figure.
