Business

Biden Celebrates Robust Job Market in Spite of Higher Unemployment Rate Among Blacks

America’s employers added 311,000 jobs last month, surpassing the 208,000 experts predicted. Further, the last two years saw more jobs created since 1940, a sign that the country has recovered soundly from the COVID-19 recession. In January, employers added 504,000 jobs, and then 300,000+ last month, robust gains that pointed to high demand for labor. However, despite the solid report, the African American job market remained problematic.

Published

3 years ago

March 20, 2023

Oakland Post

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall unemployment rate rose to 3.6% in February from 3.4% the prior month. Women over 20 saw an unemployment rate slightly rise to 3.2% from 3.1%. Unemployment rates for Black women climbed to 5.1% from 4.7%. Among Hispanic women, it jumped to 4.8% from 4.4%. The Black unemployment rate peaked at 5.7%, up from 5.4% in January. But, President Biden said he was excited about overall progress.

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

America’s employers added 311,000 jobs last month, surpassing the 208,000 experts predicted.

Further, the last two years saw more jobs created since 1940, a sign that the country has recovered soundly from the COVID-19 recession.

In January, employers added 504,000 jobs, and then 300,000+ last month, robust gains that pointed to high demand for labor.

However, despite the solid report, the African American job market remained problematic.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall unemployment rate rose to 3.6% in February from 3.4% the prior month.

Women over 20 saw an unemployment rate slightly rise to 3.2% from 3.1%.

Unemployment rates for Black women climbed to 5.1% from 4.7%.

Among Hispanic women, it jumped to 4.8% from 4.4%.

The Black unemployment rate peaked at 5.7%, up from 5.4% in January.

But, President Biden said he was excited about overall progress.

“I’m happy to report that our economy has created over 300,000 new jobs last month, and that’s on top of a half a million jobs we added the month before,” a celebratory President Joe Biden exclaimed.

“All told, we’ve created more than 12 million jobs since I took office, nearly 800,000 of them manufacturing jobs.

“That means, overall, we’ve created more jobs in two years than any administration has created in the first four years.”

Biden said he believes his administration’s economic plan is working.

The President asserted that when he took office, the economy was reeling.

“And 18 million people were unemployed, on unemployment insurance, compared to less than 2 million today,” he stated.

“Unemployment was 6.3 percent, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted it wouldn’t get below 4 percent until 2026.

“Because of our economic plan, unemployment has been below 4 percent for 14 straight months since January 2022.”

In February, the unemployment rate remained near the lowest level in a half-century.

“That’s really good news. People who were staying out of the job market are now getting back into the job market,” the President noted.

“They’re coming off the sidelines. They’re getting back into the job market. And today’s job numbers are clear: Our economy is moving in the right direction.”

Biden declared that jobs are available, and Americans are working again and becoming more optimistic about the future.

He called right-wing Republicans the biggest threat to America’s economic recovery.

“The reckless talk, my MAGA friends. This is not your — as you’ve heard me say, it’s not your father’s Republican party,” Biden railed.

“But the Republicans in the United States Congress, what they want to do with regard to the debt limit. You know, they’re threatening to default on our national debt. Planning to default, as some Republicans seem to be doing, puts us much at risk.”

He continued:

“I believe we should be building on our progress, not go backward. So, I urge our extreme MAGA Republican friends in Congress to put the threats aside. Instead, join me in continuing the progress we’ve built. We’ve got a lot more to do, so let’s finish the job.”

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.