Publications


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October: The Economy Lost 190,000 Private Sector Jobs

The October numbers indicate that the economy lost a net 190,000 private sector jobs. Net government losses were zero; however, losses at the state and local levels, excluding education, continued (-26,600). September net losses were revised down to -219,000 (from 263,000). Read more…

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Economy Losses 467,000 Net Jobs in June, More than Economists were Expecting

The June numbers had few signs of hope for a recovery anytime soon.  The economy lost a net 467,000 jobs, more than economists were expecting and more than last month’s 322,000 net losses.  The unemployment rate, after several sharp jumps earlier this year, remained essentially level at 9.5%--but since the participation rate also declined for most groups, that could be due to people no longer looking for work and therefore not counted.  Black unemployment decreased from 14.9% to 14.7%; adult black men decreased to 16.4% Read more…

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Pace of Job Losses Slows Somewhat in May; Overall Unemployment Continues to Rise

There were some signs of a spring thaw in this month’s numbers, but little relief for the unemployed.  While the unemployment rate continued its sharp increase (from 8.9% to 9.4%), a fewer than expected 345,000 net jobs were lost (and March and April’s losses were revised slightly downwards).  6 million jobs have been lost since the recession began.  Several sectors, including construction and professional/business services saw losses that were only half the rate of recent months.  Manufacturing continued to be hard hit, losing 156,000 jobs a Read more…

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Unemployment Continues to Rise in April; Long-term Unemployed at Record Level

In April of 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate increased from 8.5% to 8.9% and another 539,000 net jobs were lost. The only sector with significant growth was the government sector, which gained 72,000 jobs (led by the hiring of temporary workers for the 2010 Census). Not counting government jobs, the economy lost 611,000 jobs. Since the recession began in December of 2007, 5.7 million jobs have been lost and almost 6 million private sector jobs have been lost. Read more…

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Economy losses 663,000 jobs in March and 5.1 million since recession began; unemployment reaches 8.5%.

The unemployment rate increased from 8.1% to 8.5% in March and 663,000 jobs were lost, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Since the recession began in December of 2007, 5.1 million jobs have been lost (a loss of 3.7%), 3.3 million of which in the last five months.  Black unemployment remained essentially level (decreasing slightly from 13.4% to 13.3%), but this is a largely due to a decrease in the black labor force participation rate (indicating more people have stopped looking for work and therefore not counted).  White unemployment increased Read more…

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Economy losses 651,000 net jobs in February; unemployment increases to 8.1% and black unemployment increases to 13.4%

The economic numbers continue to tell a depressing story in February; the number of unemployed increased to 12.5 million and the unemployment rate reached 8.1% (the highest since 1983).  651,000 jobs were lost in February and 4.4 million since the recession began in December of 2007--almost 60% of that total occurred in the last four months (which averaged almost 650,000 jobs lost per month).   Unemployment increased for all groups, but blacks and Latinos (as well as men) were the most impacted.  Black unemployment rose 0.8% to 13.4% and Latinos increased 1.2% to 10.9%.& Read more…

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Economy losses almost 600,000 jobs in January, most since 1974; unemployment reaches 7.6%.

The recession was still in full swing in January with 598,000 net loss jobs and 3.6 million net jobs since the recession began in December of 2007.  Almost half of that total occurred in the last three months (each of which had a net loss of over 500,000 jobs).   Unemployment increased for all groups to 7.6%, but blacks (whose unemployment increased from 11.9% to 12.6%) and Latinos (which increased from 9.2% to 9.7%) were hit hardest.  Adult black males (age 20 and over) saw their unemployment reach 14.1%, the highest since 1984.   The share of the population t Read more…

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Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009

On Friday, May 22nd 2009, President Obama signed the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights into law (P.L. 111-24), which amends the Truth in Lending Act.  This legislation takes some important steps to curb what many see as abusive practices by the credit card industry that particularly affect low-income and minority borrowers.  Some of the major provisions: Read more…

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The 2010 Census and African Americans

Every ten years since 1790, as required by the Constitution, the federal government conducts a census to find out how many people are living in the United States and where they live.  The Census is used to distribute political power, determining not only how many representatives each state will have but the legislative boundaries within every state.  The census data is also used to determine how over $300 billion in federal funding every year is spent on education, health care, transportation and other vital areas.  The basic Census questionnaire takes less than 10 minutes to Read more…

Digital Television Transition - UPDATED

On June 12, 2009 (originally February 17), all those who watch broadcast television and do not have cable, a digital TV or a converter box will no longer be able to view their favorite shows, news, educational and other programming. Congress has mandated (through the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005) that large broadcasters end their traditional analog broadcasts and instead use exclusively digital signals after that day. Read more…