Most new hires in the U.S. are people of color for the first time ever. A recession could wipe that out.


For the first time, most new hires of prime working age in the U.S. — that is, people aged 25 to 54 — are people of color, The Washington Post found after analyzing data from the Labor Department that goes back to the 1970s. To put it in perspective, 5.2 million more people in the U.S. have jobs than they did at the end of 2016. Of those new hires, 4.5 million are minorities.
The Post notes that women of color, in particular, are behind the surge, including women over the age of 45. The latter group has reportedly emerged as one of the biggest job gainers as their children age, though the impetus for the increase isn't purely a rosy one; experts say one of the reasons more women are getting jobs is because their families need two incomes to pay rent and other bills, signifying that the cost of living is increasing disproportionately around the country. Still, there are plenty of positives. Frances Villagran-Glover, the vice president of student services at Northern Virginia Community College, spoke specifically on Latinx women entering the workforce.
"Culturally, our role was to stay home and take care of the children," she said. "But that mind-set is changing. And as women go into the workforce, they see opportunities for leadership and growth."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Of course, the specter of a recession haunts everything these days, and global economic uncertainty has led to fears that general hiring restrictions could curb these record-setting job gains. The Post also notes that some hiring gains have come by way of state programs that would likely be cut early on in an economic downturn. Read more at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Crossword: August 27, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
August 27 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include a KKK rebrand, Donald Trump vs. Gavin Newsom, and Ghislaine Maxwell as the new Celebrity Apprentice
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year