Despite having control over all three branches of government, Republicans have been unable to pass a funding bill, resulting in a government shutdown and delaying today’s jobs report indefinitely. This critical report informs businesses, policymakers and the public and this lack of timely job market data harms everyone – but it is particularly bad for Black women. That’s because recent data have shown that Black women are bearing the brunt of Trump’s disastrous economic policies. The last jobs report revealed that:
- There are more than 300,000 fewer Black women workers in the labor market compared to early 2025.
- Black women’s unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in nearly four years.
- Black women’s employment-to-population ratio has declined sharply in 2025.
The delay in this month’s report means it’s impossible to track the latest job data for Black women – and that’s bad for everyone. As Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman notes, Black women “are really…the best economic indicator for what’s coming next,” underscoring why Black women’s success is a critical benchmark for the economy overall. And as much as this administration wants to, they cannot ignore Black women.
The shutdown is not the only threat to our understanding of the economic wellbeing of women across the country. In recent months Trump has repeatedly undermined the validity and integrity of federal economic data, including firing Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McIntarfer in response to a dismal jobs report caused by his chaotic economic policies. Then he nominated E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau – an unqualified and problematic replacement who proposed eliminating the monthly report altogether. Though Antoni’s nomination was recently withdrawn, Trump’s effort to advance an unsuitable nominee stands in stark contrast to his attempts to fire well-respected Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, underscoring the administration’s lack of regard for expertise and animus toward Black women.
The ongoing attacks on timely, accurate economic data are part of a larger effort of the administration to eliminate critical datasets on food insecurity, women’s health and more. And while private-sector information about the economy is an important source of data, private surveys are wholly inadequate to paint a full and nuanced picture of the impacts across the entire economy for all communities.
And the loss of the jobs report is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of harmful impacts of the shutdown. Other important economic releases are likely to be delayed, including an upcoming inflation report which is used to calculate annual cost of living increases to Social Security benefits, and some data collection efforts have halted. Federal workers are going without pay, hurting public services and local economies – and the administration is threatening to fire them permanently. National Parks could close, food safety inspections will pause, and WIC – a nutrition support program for pregnant women and young children – will soon run out of funding.
The Trump administration has advanced chaotic, harmful economic policies. Now that the negative impacts of those policies are coming to light, the administration is turning its efforts to hiding the results of their decisions by undermining or canceling data releases and firing well-respected experts who can communicate transparently with the public or stand up to the administration’s bullying. The public deserves transparent, timely information and qualified, independent experts – not lies and misinformation.
