#NNPA BlackPress

Private Data Tells the Story Washington Won’t: Jobs Are Disappearing

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — With the federal government shutdown grinding on, the nation’s economic picture is collapsing into silence and uncertainty.

Published

9 months ago

October 10, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

With the federal government shutdown grinding on, the nation’s economic picture is collapsing into silence and uncertainty. For the first time in decades, there is no official monthly employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — the same agency many now say can no longer be trusted after the White House moved to control its data release following a weak jobs report earlier this year. In the vacuum, private firms have stepped forward with independent analyses that show the country losing jobs and faith at the same time.

ADP’s National Employment Report found that private-sector employers shed 32,000 jobs in September, reversing the modest gains of the summer. Annual pay for job-stayers rose 4.5 percent, showing that wages are inching up even as hiring slows. “Despite the strong economic growth we saw in the second quarter, this month’s release further validates what we’ve been seeing in the labor market — that U.S. employers have been cautious with hiring,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist. The ADP data showed the heaviest losses in manufacturing, construction, and professional services, with small and medium-sized companies suffering the steepest cuts. The Midwest lost 63,000 jobs, and gains in the West could not offset the slide.

Bank of America’s Institute Employment Report reinforced that picture, finding “a continued cooling of the labor market.” Its data showed a 10 percent year-over-year rise in unemployment payments made to customer accounts, nearly double the most recent increase reported by the government before the shutdown. Lower-income workers continue to trail others, with after-tax wage growth of just 1.4 percent compared with 4.0 percent for higher-income households.

Goldman Sachs produced its own estimate after the Labor Department was forced to halt publication. The investment bank calculated that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose to 224,000 in the week ending September 27, up from 218,000 a week earlier. The number of people receiving benefits slipped slightly to 1.91 million, using state-level data and seasonal adjustments that were pre-released before the shutdown. Reuters reported that the Chicago Federal Reserve used private “real-time” indicators to estimate the national unemployment rate at 4.3 percent, though without federal verification, that figure is uncertain.

Global investment firm Carlyle also stepped in, releasing its own economic indicators drawn from its portfolio of 277 companies and nearly 730,000 employees. Carlyle estimated that U.S. employers added only 17,000 jobs in September and that real private residential construction spending declined 2.5 percent, even as business investment rose 4.8 percent, driven by technology and artificial intelligence projects. “Corporate spending, particularly in technology and AI infrastructure, continues to power growth while household consumption ends the quarter on a high note,” said Jason Thomas, Carlyle’s Head of Global Research and Investment Strategy.

Yet while private analysts fill the gap left by a silenced federal government, the shutdown’s impact on workers and families has become its most defining consequence.

A newly revealed memo from the Office of Management and Budget claims that federal workers forced into furlough during the ongoing shutdown may not receive back pay once the ordeal ends. In open defiance of the law, the administration argues that the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act does not automatically guarantee wages to workers sent home or ordered to labor without compensation. The government that once promised fairness has now declared that those who serve it may be discarded. This is not confusion. It is control. Mark Paoletta, the administration’s top lawyer at the budget office, wrote that Congress must pass new legislation to authorize those payments. His reasoning is what one former Republican official called “clearly against its intent.” In other words, the government rewrote the law to justify punishing the very people who keep it running.

President Trump offered no compassion, only contempt. “It depends on who we’re talking about,” he said when asked if furloughed workers would receive back pay. “There are some people who really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.” Those words echo not from a leader, but from a ruler measuring human worth as though it were a currency. Across the country, millions now live the consequences of those words. Families of federal workers stare at empty refrigerators — the most recent estimate revealed that more than 49,000 District residents, or 13 percent, are federally employed — and rent notices pile up. CNN reported that many workers will receive smaller paychecks this week, the last they may see until the shutdown ends. What kind of democracy weaponizes hunger against its own citizens?

The administration’s defiance also contradicts its own Office of Personnel Management, which stated that “employees who were furloughed as a result of the lapse will receive retroactive pay for those furlough periods” once the shutdown ends. But this White House does not deal in law; it deals in loyalty. It rewards obedience and punishes dissent. It governs by threat and humiliation. And as the government remains closed and official data suppressed, America’s workers — both public and private — are left to piece together their own picture of a country in economic and moral decline.

Stacy M. Brown

Posts by Stacy M. Brown

Up Next

Oakland Post: Week of October 8 – 14, 2025

Don't Miss

Hours After Fraud Charge, Black Women Mobilize in Support of NY AG Tish James

Stacy M. Brown

Click to comment

#NNPA BlackPress

Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park

ATLANTA VOICE — A mural depicting late journalist Jovita Moore, painted on the exterior wall of a building now occupied by Bellwood Coffee in Grant Park, was painted over in April. Moore passed away in 2021 after decades of working in Atlanta television news. Bellwood Coffee owners stated in May they were unaware of Moore’s identity or significance to the community before painting over the mural.
The post Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 week ago

July 8, 2026

Oakland Post

At the corner of Boulevard, SE. and Rosalia St., SE., directly across the street from an abandoned home and a Methodist Church, is Bellwood Coffee. One of hundreds of coffee shops in Atlanta, this place of business would not be worth a solitary discussion if not for the way its exterior walls are currently painted. There was once a mural depicting the late Jovita Moore, a beloved journalist who worked in Atlanta for decades. Moore, who passed away in 2021, mentored many of the people you see on television newscasts today. Though her legacy will never be forgotten, it was the mural of her image that was erased.

In April, members of the Grant Park community voiced their disgust at the mural, which graced a side wall of the building now occupied by Bellwood Coffee’s Grant Park location, before it was painted over. In its place are the words “Bellwood Coffee; Cocktails, Biscuits, Dry Goods, Air Conditioning. *Heat Too”. In May, the business owners responded to the community pushback on social media by acknowledging they did not know who Moore was before painting over her image. And later admitted that they did not attempt to find out what she meant to the community.

On May 21, the Bellwood Coffee Instagram account had a post about being “in close contact with Jovita’s family and are actively working on next steps in this process.” Two months later, the mural has not been replaced, repainted, or repositioned on the property. Nothing has been done. Black history is often erased, most recently by the current Presidential administration, but oftentimes on a smaller, quieter scale. The mural was originally painted by muralist Tommy Bronx, who had been in contact with the business owners about repainting it. As of July 6, Tommy Bronx had responded to a direct message via his Instagram account from The Atlanta Voice about any updates on his plans to repaint the mural.

“We’re currently working on it. You should see some movement in the weeks to come,” he wrote in a response.

On Monday, July 6, the business had several patrons inside and was running smoothly with three employees manning the counter. The Atlanta Voice dropped by Bellwood Coffee to get a look at the exterior wall where the mural once stood as a memorial to a journalist and mother who lost her life to brain cancer at the young age of 54. Moore’s image added some color to the block. The grey wall in its place does not.

A direct message was sent to the Bellwood Coffee Instagram account, and there hasn’t been a response as of 7 p.m. on Monday.

The post Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.

Based on reporting by Atlanta Voice.

The post Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

‘Proud to Hang Her from a Tree’: Man Arrested for Threatening Black Senator

ATLANTA DAILY WORLD — A New York man faces felony hate crime charges for allegedly posting a threat against New York State Senator Lea Webb. James A. Crosby, 49, of Binghamton, was arrested by New York State Police after investigators determined he posted a threatening comment on a social media news post about a Juneteenth celebration.
The post ‘Proud to Hang Her from a Tree’: Man Arrested for Threatening Black Senator appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 week ago

July 8, 2026

Oakland Post

A New York man is facing felony hate crime charges after allegedly posting that he’d be “proud to hang” New York State Senator Lea Webb from a tree in response to a news story about a Juneteenth celebration.

James A. Crosby, 49, of Binghamton, was arrested June 23 by New York State Police after investigators determined he posted a threatening comment on a WBNG 12 News Facebook post. “I’d be proud to hang her from a tree,” Crosby wrote, according to WBNG.

Crosby was charged with making a terroristic threat as a hate crime, a class C felony, per the New York State Police. He is currently being held at Broome County Jail.

During the subsequent investigation, state police found Crosby was in illegal possession of firearms despite being prohibited from owning them due to a prior felony conviction. Investigators recovered a rifle, a large-capacity ammunition feeding device, and a firearm suppressor — all prohibited under New York state law, per the NYSP.

Crosby was charged with four additional counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, all class D felonies.

Webb, who represents New York’s 52nd Senate District, had been a featured speaker at a Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony at Binghamton City Hall, where the celebration included prayers and the singing of the Black national anthem.

Police said Crosby’s comment was posted in response to a WBNG news story covering the event.

The day before his arrest, Crosby posted a Facebook apology claiming the comment “was not intended to be racial in any way” and was made in reference to what he described as a “criminal,” citing criticism of Webb over her use of nonprofit legal aid in a foreclosure case — a matter state watchdogs said created an appearance of a conflict of interest, per the Ithaca Voice. He was arrested the following day.

Webb issued a public statement June 25 condemning the threat.

“It was extremely disappointing and hurtful to see the now-deleted threat and attacks on my life in response to a story about Juneteenth, a national holiday that recognizes the ending of slavery in America,” she said. “Feedback and thoughts on policy are one thing, but to make a public call for lethal violence is absolutely unacceptable and dangerous. We must recognize our shared humanity and reject violence in all forms.”

She thanked Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and law enforcement for their “swift response.”

Following Crosby’s comments, social media users called for a boycott of his contracting business, Crosby Home Improvements.

The Binghamton City Democratic Committee also called for an investigation into the incident before his arrest.

The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HEREto tune in live.

The post ‘Proud to hang her from a tree’: Man arrested for threatening Black Senator appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

Based on reporting by Atlanta Daily World.

The post ‘Proud to Hang Her from a Tree’: Man Arrested for Threatening Black Senator appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

CARICOM: Strengthen Integration for Future Generations

NEW YORK CARIB NEWS — Outgoing CARICOM Chairman Terrance Drew called on regional leaders to build a stronger and more effective Caribbean Community that benefits future generations. Speaking at the 51st Regular Meeting, Drew urged modernization of governance structures and improved implementation of Community decisions to make CARICOM safer and more prosperous.
The post CARICOM: Strengthen Integration for Future Generations appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 week ago

July 8, 2026

Oakland Post

Speaking Sunday at the opening of the 51st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Saint Lucia, Dr. Terrance Drew said the region must modernize its governance structures, improve the implementation of Community decisions, and ensure CARICOM becomes safer, more prosperous, and more relevant to the lives of its citizens.

The meeting, being held under the theme “CARICOM: From Resilience to Renewal in a Changing World,” coincides with the Community’s 53rd anniversary. During the ceremony, Dr. Drew formally handed over the rotating CARICOM chairmanship to Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre.

Reflecting on his six-month tenure as chairman, Drew praised fellow regional leaders for maintaining their commitment to democracy, good governance, unity, and the rule of law despite mounting global economic and geopolitical challenges.

“Throughout these challenges, CARICOM chose engagement over isolation. Together, we reaffirmed our commitment to a fair and rules-based international trading system and ensured that the interests of small developing states continued to be heard.”
Trending
THE HUTCHINSON REPORT: Hit-and-Run Epidemic Continues to Plague South L.A

He highlighted progress made in strengthening the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, including deeper trade cooperation, expanded labour mobility, and efforts to lay the foundation for long-term economic growth. Drew also noted the Community’s growing partnerships beyond the Caribbean, particularly with the African Union, while stressing that every international partnership should advance the interests of all parties involved.

The outgoing chairman also expressed appreciation to Dr. Carla Barnett and the CARICOM Secretariat for their professionalism and unwavering support during his tenure.

“Whenever I called, you answered. Whenever support was required, you and your team responded with diligence, competence, and excellence.”

Dr. Drew urged the Secretariat to continue preserving its impartiality while faithfully implementing decisions made by Heads of Government, saying that balance has helped strengthen the regional integration movement.

The conference continues in Saint Lucia with regional leaders expected to deliberate on key issues including regional security, climate resilience, trade, economic integration, food security, Haiti, reparations, and strengthening the CSME.

Based on reporting by New York Carib News.

The post CARICOM: Strengthen Integration for Future Generations appeared first on BlackPressUSA.