AURN News with Ebony McMorris

Report Says Black America May Already Be in Recession

Ebony McMorris
June 2, 2026

FILE - In this June 15, 2018, file photo, cash is fanned out from a wallet in North Andover, Mass. The economy shrank in the first half of this year, underscoring fears of a broad-based slowdown that could lead to a recession. At the same time, the number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell to a five-month low. Inflation, meantime, remains near its highest level in four decades, though gas costs and other prices have eased in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

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(AURN News) While economists debate whether America is headed into a recession, Black America may already be living in one.

That’s the warning coming today from the National Urban League and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

New federal data shows the U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, pushing unemployment to its highest levels in years.

But for Black workers, the pain hits earlier and harder.

Black unemployment surged to more than 8% by late 2025, more than double the rate for white America after reaching historic lows just a few years ago.

The report points directly to Trump administration policies, including the rollback of DEI programs, deep cuts to federal jobs and efforts to dismantle agencies like the Minority Business Development Agency and the CDFI Fund, programs that help Black-owned businesses access capital and economic opportunity.

The National Urban League says more than 327,000 federal jobs have been eliminated.

Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.

White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris is a native Washingtonian and University of South Carolina alumna. Her passion is mentoring young adults by teaching community empowerment and media education. She is an NAB member and board member of the Thurgood Marshall Center and was presented the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for contributing more than 4,000 hours of community service under the Obama Administration.