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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on January 8, 2018 in a tweet: \"African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country. The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get your vote!\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-true/4ac7c61540eff5211f6a04d98a6bc93a.jpg.\\") ![\\"mostly- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * National * Economy * Jobs * Donald Trump ![\\"Louis](\\" By Louis Jacobson January 8, 2018 # How accurate is Donald Trump about black, Hispanic unemployment? President Donald Trump and his team found several positives to tout from the newest round of employment numbers. On Jan. 5, the day the new numbers were released, presidential daughter and White House official Ivanka Trump tweeted, \"The unemployment rate for African Americans fell to 6.8 percent, the lowest ever recorded. We are working hard to bring this rate down even further.\" > The unemployment rate for African Americans fell to 6.8 percent, the lowest > ever recorded. We are working hard to bring this rate down even further. > @WhiteHouseCEA > > — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) January 5, 2018 The president himself echoed the talking point in his own tweet Jan. 8: \"African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country. The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get your vote! #NeverForget @foxandfriends.\" > African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country. > The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is > close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get > your vote! #NeverForget @foxandfriends > > — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 How accurate is the president’s tweet? He’s right on the numbers but leaves out economic gains for those groups under Democratic control. Unemployment rates In December 2017, African-American unemployment fell to 6.8 percent. That’s a record low since the statistic was first calculated in 1972. The previous record low was 7 percent in April 2000 and September 2017. The Hispanic unemployment also dropped by a full percentage point, from 5.9 percent in December 2016 to 4.9 percent in December 2017. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 As the president said, this is close to the data point’s all-time low, which was 4.8 percent in October and November 2017. Did Democrats do \"nothing\" for black and Hispanic unemployment? The tweet would have been accurate if Trump had stopped after the numbers. But his dig on the Democrats marred his talking point. The unemployment rate for both groups declined dramatically on President Barack Obama’s watch. Black unemployment peaked at 16.6 percent in April 2010, when Obama was president. It then fell by more than half to 7.8 percent by the time Obama left office in January 2017. Hispanic unemployment, meanwhile, peaked at 13 percent in August 2009, then fell to 5.9 percent at the end of Obama’s term in January 2017 -- also a drop of more than half. We should note that presidents don’t deserve either full credit or full blame for the unemployment rate on their watch. The president is not all-powerful on economic matters; broader factors, from the business cycle to changes in technology to demographic shifts, play major roles. The White House did not reply to an inquiry for this article. Our ruling Trump tweeted, \"African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country. The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get your vote!\" He’s right about the low unemployment rates for both blacks and Hispanics today. But his slam that the Democrats \"did nothing\" in this regard is an exaggeration. Under Obama, the unemployment rate for both groups fell by more than half. We rate his statement Mostly True. Share the Facts 2018-01-08 19:12:11 UTC PolitiFact ![\\"PolitiFact\\"](\\" logo-big.jpg\\"/) 5 1 7 ![\\"PolitiFact](\\" mostlytrue.jpg\\") PolitiFact Rating: Mostly True \"African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country. The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get your vote!\" Donald Trump President ![](\\" a tweet Sunday, January 8, 2017 2017-01-08 Read More info #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Donald Trump, tweet, Jan. 8, 2018 Ivanka Trump, tweet, Jan 5, 2018 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Unemployment Rate: Black or African American, accessed Jan. 8, 2018 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, \"Unemployment Rate: Hispanic or Latino,\" accessed Jan. 8, 2018 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Louis Jacobson ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 27, 2024 in an ad: U.S. Sen. Jon Tester “voted to give taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on September 25, 2024 in an interview with MSNBC: “Even before the pandemic, (Donald Trump) lost manufacturing jobs, by most people’s estimates at least 200,000.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 26, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 10, 2024 in an op-ed: Jon Tester “supported slashing Social Security benefits” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on September 21, 2024 in in Bethlehem, Pa.: “Donald Trump added more to the national debt than any other president, ever.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Senate Leadership Fund stated on September 17, 2024 in a TV ad: “Two years ago, Bob Casey promised us his vote will reduce inflation. ... Casey’s vote for reckless spending” made inflation worse. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on September 21, 2024 in an event in Bethlehem, Pa.: “The last union member on a national ticket (was) Ronald Reagan.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 24, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on September 12, 2024 in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina: Former President Donald Trump “started out with $400 million on a silver platter and then filed for bankruptcy six times.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jon Tester stated on September 6, 2024 in a Facebook ad: “Tim Sheehy told us his health care plan: ‘We need to return health care to pure privatization.’ That would eliminate Medicare.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 13, 2024 in a rally in Las Vegas: Vice President Kamala Harris is “talking about bringing back the draft.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on August 21, 2024 in an X post: The “‘Inflation Reduction Act’ increased inflation and drove prices sky high!” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 17, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jon Tester stated on September 8, 2024 in a Facebook ad: Tim Sheehy “would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 12, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 7, 2024 in a rally in Mosinee, Wis.: Vice President Kamala Harris “cast the tiebreaking votes that caused the worst inflation in American history, costing a typical American family $28,000.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 8, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 22, 2024 in su discurso de aceptación en la Convención Nacional Demócrata: El expresidente Donald Trump “tiene la intención de promulgar lo que, en efecto, es un impuesto nacional sobre las ventas…que elevaría los precios para las familias de clase media a casi $4,000 al año”. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Marta Campabadal Graus • September 5, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 23, 2024 in a campaign event in Glendale, Ariz.: “There’s been a 43% increase in violent crimes since I left office.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 22, 2024 in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention: Former President Donald Trump \"intends to enact what, in effect, is a national sales tax ... that would raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • August 30, 2024 ### How accurate is Donald Trump about black, Hispanic unemployment? * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 30, 2024 in a Threads post: Image shows a photo of former President Donald Trump wading through floodwater after Hurricane Helene. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • October 2, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 29, 2024 in a rally in Erie, PA: Kamala Harris \"let in the 13,099 convicted murderers and opposes all efforts to find them and to remove them.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • October 2, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 25, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Georgia coach Kirby Smart\'s family ends relationship with Taylor Swift: ‘We do not support her endorsement.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 20, 2024 in a Facebook post: “TD Jakes MYSTERIOUSLY VANISHES: The search for the renowned bishop begins!” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 29, 2024 in X posts: A biolab caught fire in Georgia right before the 2024 election. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 29, 2024 in a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania: Vice President Kamala Harris “even wants to legalize fentanyl.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" House Majority PAC stated on September 9, 2024 in a television ad: Laurie Buckhout is “trying to get to Congress to pass a national abortion ban, allowing politicians to ban abortions with no exceptions and prosecute women if they get an abortion, treating women right here like criminals.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Paul Specht • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump Jr. stated on September 9, 2024 in a post: “Less than three months ago, Kamala Harris and her administration blocked 300,000 unvetted Haitian migrants from being deported out of our country.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 30, 2024 in an X post: Photo shows President Joe Biden lounging on the beach \"while towns all over America were being wiped out” by Hurricane Helene. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 30, 2024 in in social media posts: “Biden Announces: ‘2.4 billion more to Ukraine’ but ‘no more aid for Hurricane Helene.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 30, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. 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African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history Dems did nothing for you but get your vote