The May jobs report released by the Labor Department revealed the unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 4% last month.
The unemployment rate for black Americans reportedly went from 6.1% from 5.6%, while for white people, the unemployment rate remained lower than the overall rate at 3.5%.
The decline comes after earlier last month more than 40 mayors and county officials across the United States reportedly asked President Joe Biden to expedite work permits to grant millions of illegal immigrants jobs.
In a letter to Biden, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and other mayors and county officials asked the federal government to expedite work permits to potentially millions of migrants who have been released into the U.S.
“We, leaders representing local governments around the country are writing to respectfully request that the Department of Homeland Security leverage its authority to grant parole for long-term undocumented immigrants and our most recent arrivals to create a process for streamlined work authorization,” they said.
“Our request is rooted in the belief that extending the dignity of legal authorization to work for our residents born in Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and other countries would be a positive step forward. These individuals have embraced the United States as their home and have, over decades, worked diligently, paid taxes, raised families, started businesses, and bought homes,” the letter continued.
“Both recent arrivals and the long-standing undocumented community are susceptible to dangerous work conditions and exploitation that often result when individuals lack access to work authorization and the protections that come with it. It is our strong recommendation that in the development of this program, worker safety and worker choice is prioritized, and a worker’s legal presence is not solely tied to their employment by a single employer.”
