Trump Says Settlers Are Taking "Black Jobs," However There's Nothing of the Sort

Speaking at the NABJ convention on Wednesday, former President Trump. Getty Images/Scott Olson

On Wednesday, the former president of the United States informed a room full of Black journalists that immigrants are taking "Black jobs."

Why It Matters

The remarks made at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists are not only out of touch with the state of the economy in the United States, but they also feed stereotypes about the work that Black people do. They reflect one of the central ideas of his campaign, which was frequently echoed by his running mate JD Vance, that immigration hurts U.S. workers, and they follow similar language that Trump used in his debate with President Biden last month and in other venues.

Situation

Trump asserted, "I will tell you that coming from the border, are millions and millions of people who happen to be taking Black jobs." He continued, "A Black job is anyone that has a job," when asked to define the term. "That's what it is," which drew laughter from the audience. He said there's an "intrusion" of individuals coming into the nation, and that "the Black populace is impacted most by that."

Fact Check

First of all, there are no jobs for Black people in the United States because there is no racial requirement for employment. (Those were made unlawful with the Civil Rights laws passed many years prior — however, there is still segregation in recruiting.) Black people hold a wide range of positions, including vice president, hedge fund manager, journalist, and so on.

Hidden Therein

The idea that outsiders take U.S. laborers' positions away has been exposed and debated by economists for a long time. According to University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers, "on balance, when you read the data, it appears that the effect of immigration on the employment of natives is small or non-existent." Immigrants don't just work in the U.S.; they are also consumers themselves — meaning they increase demand for labor and products, which can help economies grow. (For more information, listen to this recent Planet Money segment on the subject.)

The Big Picture

Trump's remarks don't line up with the current state of the labor market. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in immigration, wages are rising, and unemployment in the United States is at an all-time low. Even though Black unemployment rates are higher than white unemployment rates, they are still relatively low. In fact, worker shortages have been a source of concern for employers in some occupations, particularly those with lower pay rates. What's more, as the American populace ages, immigration's role is only growing in significance — some regions lacking a robust population of immigrants are struggling to find workers to staff hospitals and hotels, as this new WSJ story outlines.

In Conclusion

The presidential election appears to be a choice between two opposing visions of what is possible in terms of Black employment, with a Democratic candidate whose candidacy implicitly demonstrates that Black people can do anything and an opponent presenting a very different narrative.