Trump touts ‘lowest black unemployment in history’ after January jump

President Trump took to Twitter Saturday to tout low unemployment numbers among black U.S. workers, praising numbers as the lowest in history despite a jump in black unemployment in January.

Trump shared a tweet from conservative radio host Wayne Dupree in which Dupree said “It’s ok [to be] black, conservative and love America.”

“So true Wayne, and Lowest black unemployment in history!” Trump responded.

So true Wayne, and Lowest black unemployment in history! https://t.co/gDxxJdZQUm

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2018

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, black unemployment rose to 7.7 percent in January after previously falling to 6.8 percent in December, which was the lowest reported since the records first began in 1972.

{mosads}Employment numbers for February have not yet been released, and it’s unclear if the black unemployment rate has changed since the January jobs report.

The current overall unemployment rate sits at 4.1 percent.

Trump and the White House have both touted black employment rates, including during the president’s first State of the Union speech last month, in which he said the rate was something he was “very proud of.” 

Critics of Trump have said that the relatively low numbers for black unemployment are the result of the gradual economic recovery since the Great Recession in the last decade. 

The unemployment rate among African-Americans has seen an overall decline since 2011, when former President Obama was still in office.