TheGrio and CNBC team up to deliver a weekly report of money matters and market updates for our community.
CNBC’s Shartia Brantley reports:
Investors had to sift through several economic reports last week, but jobs dominated headlines with Friday’s release of the June Employment Situation report. The unemployment rate fell slightly to 9.5 percent overall, as a decline in temporary census jobs was offset by an increase of 83,000 jobs in the private sector.
African-American unemployment declined to 15.4 percent nationwide, while black teen unemployment rose to 39.9 percent, the highest of any group.
In the week ahead, the markets open Tuesday due to Independence Day, but investors await reports on the service sector, consumer credit and chain store sales.
We’ll get a read on the services sector with the June 2010 ISM Non-Manufacturing report from the Institute for Supply Management, which looks at business activity within the communications, retail and construction sectors. The index has remained steady for three consecutive months, posting a 55.4 reading for May.
Consumer spending on retail products comes into focus with the International Council of Shopping Centers report on June Chain Store Sales. In May, chain store sales were impacted by unusually cool weather at the beginning of the month, keeping families at home. We’ll also get the Q3 earnings report from discount retailer Family Dollar.
Are Americans cutting back on debt? We’ll gain insight on consumer savings from the May 2010 Consumer Credit report which looks at outstanding long-term debt, including car and student loans. In April, consumer credit rose overall at an annual rate of 0.5 percent, although revolving debt, such as credit cards, decreased at a rate of 12 percent. Americans carry approximately $2.4 trillion in debt, but African-Americans carry a disproportionate debt burden.
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