PHILADELPHIA (AP) — It's one of President Donald Trump's favorite talking points in promoting his administration's success: the record low rate of black unemployment. But on a recent sunny afternoon in Vernon Park in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood, that victory seemed hollow.

As children laughed on the playground, several black men — some out of work, others homeless — sat or slept on benches nearby. Similar scenes play out across America and are backed by data that counter the positive picture Trump often paints in campaign-style rallies before largely white audiences.

When asked what...