By Associated Press -August 16, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking unjustified credit for recent job gains by black Americans even as he defends himself against claims of racism.

Trump and his administration argue he’s done more to help the economic well-being of minorities than Barack Obama, the country’s first and only black president.

The implication is that Obama struggled to create jobs for his fellow minorities, while Trump has a sterling jobs record.

Trump has also frequently touted that black unemployment is at a record low. But that figure is volatile on a monthly basis. After achieving a record low of 5.9 percent in May, it has since jumped back up to 6.6 percent.

Trump is taking credit he doesn’t deserve for job growth, according to many economists who view the continued growth since the middle of 2009 as the primary explanation for the recent hiring. More important, there are multiple signs that the racial wealth gap is now worsening and the administration appears to have done little, if anything, to specifically address this challenge.

“To identify a single indicator of employment as an indicator of economic health is, at best, incomplete,” said Darrick Hamilton, a professor of economics at the New School in New York City. “It is intentionally deceptive to focus only on that indicator.”

https://atlantablackstar.com/2018/08/16/fact-check-trump-overstated-his-role-in-african-american-job-gains/