Pressley Has Repeatedly Sounded the Alarm on Trump’s Unemployment Crisis, Pushout of Black Women from Workforce, Demanded Action from Federal Reserve

“People are looking for jobs. People want to work, but Trump’s economy won’t let them….Maximizing employment is good for our economy. It’s good for our communities. It’s good for our families.”

Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – Today, during a House Financial Services Committee Markup, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) vehemently opposed Republican legislation that would strip the Federal Reserve’s mandate for maximum employment, emphasizing the Fed’s essential role in ensuring economic health, community well-being, and personal dignity in work especially under Trump’s unemployment crisis.

“The Federal Reserve’s mandate for maximum employment is essential to ensuring jobs are available and people are employed—and removing it would devastate our economy and communities,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. “While Republicans continue advancing harmful, anti-worker policies, I’ll keep fighting for the dignity of work.”

During debate, Rep. Pressley combatted Republicans’ anti-worker legislation through four amendments affirming the importance of the Fed’s mandate for maximum employment. Rep. Pressley’s amendments would:

• Preserve the Fed’s mandate to continue pursuing maximum employment. Video of Rep. Pressley discussing this amendment is available here.
• Ensure the Department of Labor regularly shares employment data each month, broken down by race, ethnicity, gender, and geography, as mandated by her BLS Act. Video of Rep. Pressley discussing this amendment is available here.
• Rename Republicans’ bill the “Ignore High Employment Act” to reflect what it would actually do. Video of Rep. Pressley discussing this amendment is available here.
• Require the Fed to conduct a study on the likely impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption on employment and ensure no worker is left behind. Video of Rep. Pressley discussing this amendment is available here.

In Congress, Rep. Pressley has repeatedly sounded the alarm on the rising number of Black women forced out of the workforce in the United States, called on the Federal Reserve to take action, and convened impacted women and economists to renew those calls.

A transcript of the Congresswoman’s opening remarks during debate on the legislation is available below, and the video is available here.

Transcript: Pressley Slams Republican Bill that Ignores Unemployment Crisis, Strips Federal Reserve’s Essential Mandate to Maximize Employment

U.S. House of Representatives

May 13, 2026 

Like Ranking Member Waters and my Democratic colleagues, I vigorously oppose this legislation to strip the mandate from maximum employment from the mission of the Federal Reserve. 

I mean, I never thought that my Republican colleagues would need a lesson on the importance of gainful employment and having a job. Even Ronald Reagan said that he believed the best social program is a job. And yet, here we are. 

The best way to support working families is to keep them working, plain and simple.

Maximizing employment is good for our economy. It’s good for our communities. It’s good for our families. And to deny that truth is to deny reality. 

So I’m confident that the American people will see through these baseless talking points and agree with Democrats that everyone should be able to get a job, to work a job, and to earn a living. 

Work is, is pride. It’s dignity. It’s essential to survive, to thrive, to provide, even to dream.

I’ve been working, I’ve been employed since I was thirteen, fourteen years old. Many young people pursue jobs, whether it’s being a bagger at a grocery store or work in retail, not just for enrichment or for exposure, but because it is essential. I was working at the age of fourteen to contribute to my household income.

Or what of young adults, recent graduates from college or a trade school, who want to save for a house or maybe even start a business one day? 

Or, you know, as a mother, I think about what it means to be able to see the light behind my child’s eyes when I can provide them with a vacation or some gift that they’ve been begging for.

And for our elders, increasingly so, under Trump’s administration and economy, retirement is farther and farther out of reach, and many of our elders have no choice but to work in order to pay for life saving medication, to keep a roof over their heads. 

So all this to say that having a job is not a statistic. It is essential. It is dignity. 

The dignity of work is transformational. That’s what the Fed’s mandate for maximum employment is about. 

This mission was not created in a vacuum. It dates back to the Great Depression in recognition that people should be able to earn a living, provide for themselves and their family. There was nearly unanimous support by Republicans and Democrats for maximum employment when the mandate passed Congress. 

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors is the only independent agency that works on improving employment. Some argue that this is the role of the Department of Labor, but in Trump’s America, the Labor Department is a joke. We don’t even have a Secretary of Labor right now. 

So the Fed’s mandate is essential, and always has been.

During the Great Recession of 2008—massive job loss—the Fed stepped in to maximize employment. During the COVID-19 pandemic and record layoffs, the Fed once again pursued its mandate of maximum employment. And in this moment, we need the Fed to do more, not less. 

For months, I’ve been sounding the alarm about the current unemployment crisis. The unemployment rate has increased to 4.3% due to Trump’s reckless policies like firing government workers, attacking small businesses. 

And when you analyze the data, Black unemployment specifically is at 7.3%. These are the worst rates we’ve seen since the pandemic. 

Black workers are the canaries in the coal mine. What happens to our community first, happens to everyone next. So folks should take heed. 

People are looking for jobs. People want to work, but Trump’s economy won’t let them.

Just last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced the jobs numbers and said something that Republicans need to hear. There is little hiring going on, and for many Americans, it doesn’t feel like a good labor market. 

So the solution to the current unemployment problem is not to tell the Fed to abandon the goal of maximum employment. The solution is to empower the Fed to do even more. Recent graduates deserve more. 

Having a job and earning a paycheck is a beautiful and essential thing. 

So I just want to say this to folks at home, in the midst of all of this, these anti-worker policies against paid leave, child care, supporting tariffs, suppressing wages.

To those who keep applying to jobs but still aren’t hearing back,

To those who are wondering how they’re going to pay their bills without a paycheck,

To those who are doing everything right but the economy is all wrong, 

To those who know and appreciate the dignity of work, I see you. I’m fighting for you.

And that is why I oppose this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

In September 2025, Congresswoman Pressley wrote to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sounding the alarm on the rising unemployment rate for Black women in the United States and demanding the Fed take immediate action to uphold its mandate of maximum employment for all. The Congresswoman’s letter came amid the Trump Administration’s mass federal workforce layoffs and anti-DEI policies disproportionately impacting Black women and as Donald Trump attempted to seize control of the Fed by illegally firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. A copy of the Congresswoman’s letter is available here.

In December 2025, Rep. Pressley and Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke followed up to Rep. Pressley’s demands and wrote to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell demanding a briefing for members of the Congressional Black Caucus on how the Federal Reserve is responding to this growing crisis. 

In March 2026, Reps. Pressley and Summer Lee (PA-12) introduced the Better Labor Statistics Act, or the BLS Act, legislation that would codify the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ mandate to report unemployment data publicly, online, and at the first Friday of each month to ensure transparency and accuracy in unemployment data collection. The BLS Act would also codify the publication of unemployment data broken down by race and ethnicity, gender, geography, and industry.

In December 2025, Rep. Pressley, along with Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women & Girls, Congresswomen Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), led 19 of their colleagues demanding the Department of Labor (DOL) take immediate action to address the rising unemployment crisis among Black women that has taken shape since the start of the second Trump Administration.

In November 2025, Rep. Pressley convened Black women, economists, civil rights leaders, and community members for an urgent discussion about the unemployment crisis facing Black women and its impact in Massachusetts and beyond.

In September 2025, Congresswoman Pressley convened a press conference with a coalition of Black women activists and civil rights leaders to continue sounding the alarm on the rising number of Black women forced out of the workforce in the United States.

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