09 Jul 2022 Good Jobs Report, But Bleak Prospects Loom

The June jobs report was better than expected. But the hubris of Joe Biden was still high.

“[I]t would not have been possible without the decisive action of my administration,” claimed the president in a football-spiking statement made soon after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announcement that the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6% and approximately 372,000 jobs were created.

But members of the National Center’s Project 21 black leadership network want to remind the president that, as the Bible says: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

“The U.S. economy showing another month of job gains is the figurative deep breath before the economic plunge,” added Project 21 member Michael Austin.

For example, Biden did not mention the 5.1% rise in wages is far lower than the 8.6% rise in consumer prices. Inflation is a top concern of the American people right now, and it’s the roughest patch of it in 40 years. Biden also neglected to mention that the labor force participation rate – those working or trying to work – shrunk a tenth of a percent.

“Once again, the labor force participation rate fell, signaling that more Americans are leaving the job market. Making matters worse, a myriad of reports are saying the U.S. economy not only shrank in the first quarter, but likely contracted in the second quarter,” noted Michael. “If official reports confirm that suspicion in the days to come, then these job gains are not likely to last.”

Black unemployment was at 5.8% – well above the white rate of 3.3%. And black teenage unemployment was a staggeringly high 16.1%.

“We still see employee shortages, longer wait times and a slight decline in basic services. This is all despite the jobs report showing ‘better than expected’ results,” said Project 21 member Philip Clay. “And companies in industries like housing and tech are starting to see large numbers of layoffs. American confidence in the economy is still spiraling downward. We continue to fight rising prices at the pump and checkout lanes despite Biden’s heralded massive wage gains.”