Earlier this week, we talked about the employment losses Black women experienced during 2025.
But counting jobs only tells part of the story.
Because when a professional position disappears, a salary disappears with it.
And that salary may be supporting far more than one person.
Let’s talk about $75,000.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, approximately 7.06 million Black women between ages 25 and 64 worked full-time, year-round in 2024.
Of that group, approximately 1.95 million earned at least $75,000 annually.
That’s about 27.6% of full-time, year-round Black female workers in that age range.
To be clear: that does not mean 1.95 million women earning $75,000 were laid off.
The available public data do not allow us to make that connection.
But the number tells us something important.
There is a substantial population of Black women who spent years building careers capable of producing middle- and upper-middle-income salaries.
And when those careers are disrupted, the consequences extend far beyond a job title.
An $85,000 salary may be paying a mortgage.
A $100,000 salary may be supporting children and an aging parent.
That paycheck may be funding health insurance, tuition, retirement contributions, childcare, transportation and the emergency savings that took years to build.
So when the job goes away, we shouldn’t simply say:
“She lost her job.”
She may have lost the financial structure holding an entire household together.
And “just get another job” isn’t always that simple.
In 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics counted an annual average of approximately 769,000 unemployed Black women.
About 222,000 had been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer.
The average duration of unemployment for Black women was 27.1 weeks.
That’s more than six months.
Six months of applications.
Six months of résumé changes.
Six months of hearing that the company “decided to move in another direction.”
Six months of wondering whether your experience now makes you overqualified.
Six months of watching savings shrink.
And if the next opportunity comes with a salary $20,000 or $30,000 lower than the previous one, employment may return—but the financial recovery may take considerably longer.
So what does career security mean now?
This is the part I believe professionals need to think about differently.
This is not an argument against education.
It is not an argument against corporate careers.
And it is certainly not an argument that everybody should quit tomorrow and become an entrepreneur.
But I do believe the days of allowing one employer to represent our entire economic plan deserve reconsideration.
A company can value you and still restructure.
A manager can love your work and still be told to eliminate your department.
Twenty years of service can still end with a severance package.
So perhaps the question becomes:
What belongs to you when the company no longer does?
Your knowledge does.
Your reputation does.
Your relationships do.
Your skills do.
Your network does.
Your ideas do.
And the ability to generate income outside one employer can belong to you too.
That may mean consulting. Freelancing. Teaching. Speaking. Contract work. Maintaining a professional portfolio. Building stronger industry relationships. Obtaining another certification. Creating a second stream of income. Or simply keeping your résumé and LinkedIn profile current before you need them.
The answer doesn’t have to be entrepreneurship.
The answer is options.
The Compass Point
Maybe the new definition of professional security isn’t:
“I have a good job.”
Maybe it’s:
“I have options if this job goes away.”
Build the degree.
Build the career.
Build the retirement.
Build the savings.
But also build your skills, your network, your reputation and your ability to move.
Because a company may employ you.
It should never own your entire ability to survive.
And there is another part of today’s employment environment we need to discuss.
When someone has been unemployed for months, they’re tired.
They’re applying everywhere.
They’re watching savings disappear.
Then suddenly an email arrives:
“We reviewed your résumé and believe you’d be perfect for our remote management position. Salary: $95,000.”
The message comes from Gmail.
The interview happens by text.
And the “recruiter” needs personal information immediately.
When you’ve been searching for six months, a fraudulent job offer doesn’t always look like a scam.
Sometimes it looks like relief.
That’s where The Tablemakers Compass goes next.
The Tablemakers Compass — where leadership, hospitality, business and the human experience meet.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey/ASEC; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Economic Policy Institute; Institute for Women’s Policy Research.