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CFPB Director Richard Cordray Announces New Service Mortgage Guidelines
On April 10, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray announced sweeping new reforms designed to protect borrowers from costly surprises and mistreatment when interacting with the nation's mortgage servicers. The community town hall event was held at the Operation HOPE Center in Washington, DC where Director Cordray outlined the new rules for news media. Director Cordray also answered a series of questions offered by community residents in attendance. The CFPB is America's new consumer watchdog bureau established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010.
March 2012 Jobs Report
Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added a net of 120,000 jobs in March. Making March the first time job growth has dipped below 200,000 in the last four months. Private sector job growth (excludes government losses) was 121,000, less than half the average rate of growth over the prior 3 months. The number of unemployed people declined slightly to 12.7 million in March as the labor force participation rate decreased slightly to 63.8%.
The modest private sector job growth was distributed across most major industries with the highest growth in leisure & hospitality (+39,000), followed by manufacturing and education & health (+37,000 each), and professional and business services (+31,000). Only three industries lost jobs in March -- retail trade (-33,800), construction (-7,000) and government (-1,000).
The national unemployment rate for March was 8.2% (from 8.3% in February). The black unemployment rate was largely unchanged at 14.0% (from 14.1% in February), but down from the average 2011 level of above 15.5%. The unemployment rate for whites remained the same at 7.3% as the Hispanic rate declined to 10.3% (from 10.7%). Rates of teen unemployment were 22.5% for whites (from 21.3%), 40.5% for African-Americans (from 34.7%) and 30.5% for Latinos (from 27.5%, not seasonally adjusted). The rate of underemployment (including the unemployed, marginally attached and those working part-time for economic reasons) was 14.5% (from 14.9%) and has been gradually declining for the past six months. The ranks of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) remains elevated at 5.3 million or 42.5% of all unemployed.
NUL's March 2012 Employment report and a transcript of Dr. Valerie Rawlston Wilson's online jobs chat are available at here.
White House and Social Security Administration Hold African American Roundtable on Social Security
On April 5, 2012, the White House Office of Public Engagement and the Social Security Administration (SSA) hosted a special African American Roundtable in Washington, D.C. to discuss key programs under Social Security including Retirement, Survivor and Disability benefits, as well as the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. SSA Deputy Commissioner Carolyn Colvin served as Moderator and provided an overview of Social Security’s various programs and benefits and invited an open discussion on its impact on the various populations represented at the table, including African American women, veterans, individuals re-entering society from the criminal justice system, and homeless persons. National Urban League Policy Institute (NULPI) legislative staff participated in the roundtable and highlighted NUL’s work on Social Security including ongoing research and education initiatives and NUL’s work under a grant from the National Academy of Social Insurant to prepare education materials on Social Security programs.
The SSA provided Fact Sheets on Social Security that included the following key information about its programs:
- An estimated 159 million workers, 94% of all workers, are covered under Social Security
- Retired workers and their dependents account for 69% of total benefits paid
- Disabled workers and their dependents account for 19% of total benefits paid
- Survivors of deceased workers account for about 12% of total benefits paid
- The Social Security system is progressive in that lower-wage earners receive a higher percentage benefit than higher-wage earners do
NULPI Briefs Congressional Tri-Caucus on Media Ownership
On Tuesday, April 10, 2012, NULPI participated in a briefing for staff members of Black, Hispanic and Asian-Pacific caucuses in Congress (the Tri-Caucus) on minority ownership in the media. The briefing was moderated by Hillary Shelton of the NAACP, and staff from the Asian American Justice Center and the National Hispanic Media Coalition also spoke. The issues discussed included the critical need to drive revenues and capital into minority businesses to unleash their potential. Recommendations such as extending the cable procurement rule, employing a minority incubator program, reestablishing the tax certificate program and making alterations to the designated entity rule were discussed.
