Employers cut back payrolls less than expected in July, according to unemployment numbers released by the Labor Department, Friday. The jobless rate dipped to 9.4% last month as companies slashed 247,000 jobs, after slashing 443,000 jobs in June.

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis called the lower-than-expected ebb an “improvement,” adding, “We are starting to create the stability necessary to get us there, and we will not be satisfied until we see robust monthly job growth.” But, Solis cautioned, “we are not in recovery yet.”

The African American unemployment rate continued its downward trend for the third straight month, hitting 14.5%, a slight decline from June, when the rate reached 14.7%. Despite the glimmer of good news, blacks are still hard hit by the ailing economy with unemployment 4.6% higher, year over year.

“[Blacks] still have high rates of unemployment, and unfortunately it’s probably going to be three or four years longer before the unemployment rate comes back down to prerecession numbers,” says Algernon Austin, director of the race, ethnicity, and economy program at EPI.

Austin says black males have seen the greatest job losses in trade and manufacturing, while black females’ greatest job losses have been in trade, finance, insurance, and real estate.

Perhaps signaling a turn in the lengthening recession, June’s slowdown in losses is the first drop in the unemployment rate since April 2008. The numbers significantly beat analysts’ expectations, who forecast upwards of 300,000 job losses, according to the Economic Policy Institute, which also predicted unemployment would increase to 9.7%, in July.

The pullback was spurred in part by fewer cuts in manufacturing, construction, professional and business services and financial activities, all industries hit hard by the recession.  Overall, there were 14.5 million unemployed in July.

– Renita Burns

Free Foreclosure Webinars Offered for N.Y. State Residents

The Bridge Street Development Corporation (BSDC), a Brooklyn, New York-based nonprofit, is offering a free educational webinar series that New York State residents can participate in from the privacy and comfort of their home or office.

One seminar, “What to Expect When Facing Foreclosure,” will provide information on obtaining a mortgage, the foreclosure process, and understanding your options if you are facing foreclosure. It will be held Aug. 11 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The next two seminars, one on the White House’s Make Home Affordable program, and another on how foreclosure can affect renters, will take place Sept.16 and Oct. 13, respectively, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“We want to raise awareness on foreclosure and resources,” says Tami Aikens, foreclosure prevention counselor at BSDC.  “We don’t want people ashamed. There is help out there.”

To register, call 718-636-7596, ext. 14, or by log on to http://www.knowthefactsdontloseyourhome.org/.

Schedule:

–Tuesday, August 11, 7 to 8:30 p.m. - What to Expect When Facing Foreclosure

–Wednesday, September 16, 6:30 to 8 p.m. – Making Homes Affordable

–Tuesday, October 13, 6:30 to 8 p.m. – Surprising Facts Apartment Renters Should Know About Foreclosure

– Janell Hazelwood

African Americans Love to Tweet

Twitter is the leader of the pack among African American social networkers, according to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, an initiative of the Pew Research Center, a nonprofit research organization. The study shows that Twitter users are slightly more racially and ethnically diverse than the overall U.S. population. Among Internet users, 16% of African Americans use Twitter or similar status update services, compared with 9% of white users. Also, 35% of Twitter users live in urban areas compared to 29% for all Internet users.

Online Population of Social Networkers
White 31%
African American 43%
Hispanic 48%

Daily Social Networking Users
White
African American 23%
Hispanic

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project

– Carolyn M. Brown

Black Films Are Box Office Hits

Films produced by African Americans and/or featuring a predominately black cast continue to score at the box office. The dynamic duo Will Smith and James Lassiter’s Hancock finished in fourth place out of all top grossing films in 2008, raking in $227.9 million domestically and $624.3 worldwide. This year’s top dog among black films is Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail at $90.5 million, which ranks No. 12 among the highest grossing films so far in 2009. This is Perry’s top earning production since Madea’s Family Reunion, which went on to gross $63.2 million domestically.

Top 10 Grossing Black Films 2008 (millions)
1.    Hancock $227.9
2.    Seven Pounds $69.9
3.    College Road Trip $45.6
4.    Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins $42.4
5.    Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns $41.9
6.    Lakeview Terrace $39.2
7.    First Sunday $37.9
8.    The Secret Lives of Bees $37.7
9.    Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys $37.1
10.    Soul Men $12.1

Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com

Top 10 Grossing Black Films 2007 (millions)
1.    I Am Legend $256. 3
2.    American Gangster $130.1
3.    Norbit $95.6
4.    Stomp The Yard $61.3
5.    Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married $55.2
6.    Are We Done Yet? $49.6
7.    This Christmas $49.1
8.    Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls $31.3
9.    The Great Debaters $30.2
10.    I Think I Love My Wife $12.5

Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com

– Carolyn M. Brown

Tech Workforce Lacks Diversity

Minorities are a small fraction of high-technology workforces, especially at the senior level in Silicon Valley, California, shows a recent study from the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. Minorities made up only 6.1% of technical men and 8.2% of technical women at high-tech companies in 2008.

Tech Workforce

Source: Obstacles and Solutions for Underrepresented Minorities in Technology, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, 2009

– Carolyn M. Brown