Rep. Ayanna Pressley Urges Fed to Address Rising Black Women Unemployment

Rep. Ayanna Pressley has urged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to address the rising unemployment rate among Black women, which has increased significantly under President Donald Trump's administration. Pressley highlighted that Black women, who are key economic contributors as the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs and disproportionate family breadwinners, have seen a 1.3% rise in unemployment since early 2025, with 319,000 fewer Black women employed by July. She attributed these job losses partly to mass federal workforce layoffs ordered by Trump, which disproportionately affected Black women who make up about 12% of the federal workforce. Pressley also expressed concern over Trump's firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the first Black woman in that role, viewing it as part of a targeted pattern of discrimination. She called on the Fed to collect data on Black women's employment changes and to uphold its mandate to promote maximum employment for all workers, emphasizing that these trends could signal broader economic risks. Pressley's demands come amid warnings from economic experts and growing disparities in unemployment rates between Black and white workers, with potential negative repercussions for the national economy.