When the economy begins to slow, Black workers often feel it first.
Recent employment data suggest that may be happening again, even as the overall job market in Missouri and the St. Louis region remains relatively stable.
Missouri’s unemployment rate stood at 3.8% in April, lower than the national rate of 4.3%. In the St. Louis metropolitan area, unemployment was 4.3% in April, according to federal labor data.
Yet a closer look at the numbers reveals a different reality for many Black workers.
Missouri’s Black unemployment rate reached 7.2% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 3.2% for white workers, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. Nationally, Black unemployment also stood at 7.2%.
The disparity comes as employers across the country have become more cautious about hiring.
In a speech this spring, St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem described the labor market as “low hire, low fire” — a period when employers are laying off relatively few workers but also adding fewer new ones.
For people looking for work, that can mean fewer openings, more competition and longer job searches, even when the broader economy appears healthy.
The gap is not new. A city of St. Louis equity analysis conducted before the pandemic found Black residents were far more likely than white residents to be unemployed, reflecting disparities that local leaders have grappled with for years.
Economists have long observed that Black workers often experience higher unemployment rates than white workers regardless of whether the economy is expanding or contracting. Those gaps can widen when hiring slows.
These employment disparities can become even more difficult to overcome when communities face unexpected setbacks.
The May 16, 2025 tornado that tore through North St. Louis added another challenge for many residents in some of the region’s hardest-hit neighborhoods. The storm damaged thousands of homes, businesses and community institutions in areas that were already facing economic hurdles.
Some employment opportunities have emerged through the recovery effort.
This spring, the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) began administering a Disaster Recovery Jobs Program funded through a federal grant from the U.S. Labor Department. The initiative connects residents to temporary jobs supporting cleanup, repairs and rebuilding efforts in tornado-affected neighborhoods. Participants can earn up to $25 an hour while working on recovery projects across the city.
While temporary in nature, the program represents one example of how rebuilding efforts are creating employment opportunities in communities still recovering from the storm.
Missouri’s overall unemployment rate remains relatively low, and employers continue to hire in many industries.
But the latest figures suggest the labor market is not working equally for everyone.
For Black workers, finding a job — or finding a better one — may be becoming more difficult even in an economy that appears stable on the surface.