President Donald Trump is taking credit for a decline in the African-American unemployment rate again, this time by taking aim at rapper and businessman Jay-Z following his comments on CNN Saturday night.
"Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!" Trump tweeted Sunday morning.
The President's tweet follows Jay-Z's remarks on the premiere of CNN's "The Van Jones Show," where the rapper addressed Trump.
Asked by Van Jones whether it's OK for Trump "to say terrible things but put money in our pockets" amid Trump's claims that unemployment for African-Americans has dropped, Jay-Z said no, "because it's not about money at the end of the day. Money doesn't equate to happiness. It doesn't. That's missing the whole point.
"You treat people like human beings. That's the main point," he said. "It goes back to the whole thing -- 'treat me really bad and pay me well.' It's not going to lead to happiness, it's going to lead to, again, the same thing. Everyone's going to be sick."
Scholars attribute the disparity in unemployment rates to a combination of factors: Hiring discrimination, lower educational attainment and a higher rate of people with criminal records, who are barred from many occupations.
There has been improvement over the years. In 1990, only 11.3% of African Americans had four-year college degrees, compared to 22% for whites, according to Census data. In 2017, those numbers had risen to 24% and 34.5%.
