Photos: Wikimedia Commons\CEPR
A new analysis from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) finds that the best states for Black employment are Nevada, Maryland, and Virginia – but warns that the Trump administration’s attacks on the federal workforce are likely to do damage in the latter two states.
The report, The Best Black Employment States – And How the Trump Administration is Hurting Them, ranks 28 states on their relative employment status for Black people – specifically, the employment rates for Black men and women and employment rate gaps between White and Black workers. The report also discusses the Black jobs deficit, which is the number of jobs that Black people need to have the same employment-to-population ratio as their White peers.
The report also finds a striking gender gap: While Black women had lower employment rates than White women in only 5 states (out of the 28 surveyed), Black men had lower employment rates than White men in 28 states out of 31.
With Nevada, Maryland, and Virginia at the top – with relatively high employment rates for both Black women and Black men, and relatively small employment rate gaps with their White – the states with the lowest rankings were Arkansas, Michigan, and Illinois.
The Trump administration’s actions against public workers will likely have serious impacts in Virginia and Maryland, states with relatively large shares of the Black federal workforce. The White House’s broad-based attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs are also likely to negatively impact Black workers, as will the job reductions in federal agencies where Black workers are overrepresented, like the Department of Education.
The CEPR analysis uses data from the most recent American Community Survey, which is for 2023. Only 28 states had sufficient data for the overall ranking.
