This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

The latest employment data paint a stark and concerning picture for Black workers in the U.S. economy. After steady—if uneven—gains in recent years, June 2025 brought a sharp reversal, especially for Black men. Black Male Unemployment Spikes Dramatically Black male unemployment surged from 5.2% in May to 6.9% in June—an astonishing jump of 1.7 percentage points in just one month. This represents the second largest monthly increase since the dark days of March-April 2020, when the pandemic lockdowns sent unemployment soaring. In raw numbers, Black men lost 181,000 jobs in June alone, a dramatic and painful setback. To put this in perspective, outside of the COVID-19 crisis, this is the largest one-month spike in Black male unemployment in at least a decade. Even during the Great Recession, similar jumps occurred over longer periods rather than in a single month. Overall Black Unemployment Trend Overall Black unemployment rose from 6.0% to 6.8% in June. This increase reflects a broader s...

The graphic above shows unemployment rates across different racial and ethnic groups from April 2023 to June 2024. The picture reviews unemployment rates for White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic or Latino populations. The data indicates fluctuations in unemployment rates between and among these groups, with disparities that warrant further examination. Trends and Observations 1. White Population: The unemployment rate for Whites has shown minor fluctuations, generally staying between 3.10% and 3.50%. The lowest recorded rate was in April 2023 (3.10%), and the highest was observed in October and December 2023, and June 2024 (3.50%). This demographic shows the least variation in unemployment rates compared to others. 2. Black Population: Blacks traditionally experience the highest volatility in unemployment rates, with a 0.2% increase in June 2024.  The rate increased from 4.80% in April 2023 to a peak of 6.40% in March 2024, before decreasing to 5.6% in April 2024. From April to June 2...