When the economy shifts and weakens, it’s always Black women who are first hit by its tremors. Statistics are now proving an economic instability in the job market that we’ve been feeling in our bones for a while.

There’s an unemployment crisis among Black women that no one wants to talk about. Positions are being eliminated and our hardworking, experienced, educated sisters are being laid off or forced out.

While the national unemployment rate as of August stands at 4.3%, joblessness among Black women has jumped to 7.5%. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an estimated 318,000 jobs held by Black women evaporated between the months of February and April.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development found that 9,018 Black women filed for unemployment benefits in that same three-month time frame.

Yes, that’s more than 9,000 of our fellow Minnesotans who are experiencing a financial crisis. These are my friends. These are also your neighbors.

These tax-paying, law-abiding Black women are up late at night, figuring out how to make a dollar out of 15 cents to pay their mortgage and up early the next morning praying for God to bless their job search.

Terace Johnson is well aware of racial and gender disparities. The founder and CEO of Spotlight Staffing, Johnson has her finger on the pulse of the employment scene in the Twin Cities and is talking to an ever-growing number of concerned but hopeful Black women who are out of work and applying for jobs.

“I run an executive roundtable twice a month. We talk about the atrocious and growing number of Black women who are being let go, their positions got cut. They’ve become disposable. That’s the word that one woman used,” Johnson said.

The reasons for the disproportionate job losses among Black women are numerous.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Black women make up 12% of the federal workforce, and their jobs have been on the chopping block since Elon Musk revved up his chainsaw and even before this government shutdown. Add to that the rollbacks in DEI programs that cut or eliminated staff plus the overall economic slowdown and it’s no wonder the most vulnerable, yet dedicated workers are the ones getting squeezed out.

I can’t help but think that those who have resented our progress all along have been waiting for this chance to crush us and push us back down, so we are forced to live with less.

When Black women lose their jobs or see their hours slashed and become underemployed, it not only hits our families, but it sends ripples through our churches, neighborhoods and community.

As an activist and a problem solver, I’m stepping in. My company ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com is sponsoring a Job Fair and Brunch.

I’m inviting Black women in search of work to join me on Friday, Oct. 17,  from 9 am to noon. We will gather at The Coliseum at 2708 E. Lake St., Minneapolis. More than a dozen local companies will be on hand to connect with potential employees in a relaxed atmosphere.

We’ll even do a raffle with a prize to ease some of the hardship that women out of work are dealing with. Two lucky ladies attending the Job Fair will have their November mortgage or rent paid by ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com and Spotlight Staffing.

Maybe you’ve heard the old saying that when white folks catch a cold, Black folks get pneumonia, and within that context, it’s always Black women who are the first to come down with a fever.

I’m a comedian so I tell jokes for a living, but the employment crisis being experienced by Black women is no laughing matter. We are the warning of what’s to come.

Yet, like Maya Angelou’s poem says, still, like air, we rise.

Sheletta Brundidge is an Emmy-Award-winning radio host, comedian and entrepreneur. To sign up for her daily newsletter, go to ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com