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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2016)
November 23, 2016 The Skanner Page 3 News Unemployment cont’d from pg 1 “ ly edging down from 58 percent in September to 57.9 percent in October. Last month, the unem- ployment rate for White women was the lowest of all adult working groups at 3.8 percent, but the participation rate for White women took a step down from 57.5 percent in September to 57.4 per- While we celebrate this prog- ress, we also remain commit- ted to making meaningful investments in our nation’s families and in our economy to ensure that our growing prosperity is broadly shared The unemployment rate for Black men jumped from 8.2 per- cent in September to 8.7 percent in October. The participation rate for Black men remained unchanged from Sep- tember to October (67.5 percent) and the employ- ment-population ratio also decreased from 62 percent in September to 61.7 percent in October. The jobless rate for White men hasn’t changed since July (4.1 percent) and the share of White male workers that were employed (69 percent) hasn’t changed since August. The labor force partic- ipation rate decreased from 72 percent in Sep- tember to 71.9 percent in October. The jobless rate for Black women over 20 years-old ticked up from 7 percent in September to 7.1 percent in October. The labor force partic- ipation rate for Black women remained at 62.3 percent the same mark set in September, but the employment-population ratio weakened slight- cent in October. The employment-pop- ulation ratio for White women was 55.3 percent, the same mark set in Sep- tember. Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Eco- nomic Policy Institute, said that there was some good news in October’s jobs report noting that the economy added 161,000 new jobs and that “nominal wage growth increased 2.8 percent over the year” which could indicate that work- ers are starting to gain some leverage in the la- bor market. The national unem- ployment rate improved from 5 percent in Sep- tember to 4.9 percent in October. The healthcare sector added 31,000 jobs in October and 415,000 jobs over the past 12 months, according to the Labor Department. “The economy contin- ues to move in the right direction, but consider- able slack remains and the recovery has yet to be fully realized in all parts of the economy or for all workers,” said Gould. PHOTO BY JERRY FOSTER down from 62.9 percent in September to 62.8 per- cent in October. The employment-pop- ulation ratio slipped from September’s 60.2 percent to 60.1 percent in October. Among adults 20 years and older, Black men suf- fered the biggest setback in October. Wake of Vanport The Skanner News screened the newest edition of the Wake of Vanport series at the historic Hollywood Theatre in Northeast Portland Nov. 20. The 2016 series features 10 new stories of Vanport survivors. The Wake of Vanport oral history project aims to capture the memories of those who lived in Vanport before the town was destroyed by a flood in 1948. Historian and author Zita Podany gave a brief talk about life in the hastily constructed workforce housing town. After the screening, Vanport survivor Lee Moore led a discussion about the importance of Vanport history. Moore advocated for a permanent memorial of Vanport to be placed where the town once was. PPS cont’d from pg 1 Enforcement officials who come on to PPS property to remove stu- dents or collect information. School board member Julie Es- parza Brown, who introduced the resolution, said the action was in response to the fears from stu- dents, parents and the commu- nity. President-elect Trump cam- paigned heavily on the promise of the mass deportation of undoc- umented immigrants. “There’s been a lot of hateful, negative and scary rhetoric over the past couple of weeks and with that comes a lot of fear and uncer- tainty in our community,” Brown said. The resolution designates PPS schools as a safe space for all students regardless of immigra- tion status. Any ICE officer must first notify the superintendent and district legal counsel before entering PPS property. The offi- cer must provide legal validity for any request and written au- thority by Immigration and Natu- ralization Services. The resolution states that all ICE attempts need to give ad- equate notice to verify the le- “ were getting a number of calls and emails from worried parents. Brown said that they could not help the national political envi- ‘We can’t control what happens at the national level, but in our own lives at work, at school, in our communities and across our institutions, we can stand up against any racism, sexism, xenophobia — any form of hatred’ gality and to allow PPS officials to take steps to provide for the safety of students and staff. Additionally, PPS staff cannot ask about a student or family mem- ber’s immigration status and can not reveal information about that status without parental consent. The resolution gives the school system 90 days to train staff. School board members Brown and Amy Kohnstamm said they ronment, but they could affect change locally. “We can’t control what hap- pens at the national level, but in our own lives at work, at school, in our communities and across our institutions, we can stand up against any racism, sexism, xe- nophobia — any form of hatred,” Brown said. Read more at TheSkanner.com abilities, were also less likely to have bank accounts — and according to the National Disability Institute, African Americans with disabilities are par- ticularly likely to do without banking services: two-thirds of African Amer- icans with disabilities are unbanked or underbanked, as compared with 46 percent of all adults with disabilities. The FDIC notes financially under- served people are more vulnerable to crime — and lose time and money seek- ing out financial services like check cashing. The report also says households that don’t have bank accounts are more like- ly to have unpredictable incomes, and recommends banks develop services to adapt to their needs. “Bank products and services that en- able households to better manage their account relationships and meet their financial needs when income is volatile may help these consumers open and sustain bank accounts and conduct a greater share of their financial trans- actions within the banking system,” the report says. And some banks and credit unions are starting to offer services specifical- ly tailored for people who don’t have traditional bank accounts. “ the Northwest Credit Union Associa- tion. Members open a savings account and for every $25 deposit (up to 10 per month), they are entered into a month- ly cash drawing. Steve Pagenstecher, the vice presi- dent for member experience at Point West Credit Union in Portland, said Point West — which merged with the NAACP’s credit union in 1995 and Hacienda’s in 2004 — during the Great Recession launched a lending program for non-U.S. citizens to ensure they’d be able to access credit, including car loans. Often, immigrants come to the United States with no cred- it history at all, and the program offers them the opportunity build credit, making it easier to access home and car loans or apply for rental properties. “We don’t talk about it as a separate program. We offer consumer lending at rates for all — everything excluding ‘What we don’t want is to have these households left behind’ Credit unions have also expanded their services to better meet the needs of populations who are often under- served by traditional banking institu- tions. The Save to Win program, for in- stance, was created in Michigan in 2009 to encourage people to build sav- ings habits by providing cash prize incentives, and is now available in 10 states, including Oregon, according to Lynn Heider, vice president of pub- lic relations and communications for PHOTO BY DORAN (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) VIA FLICKR Unbanked cont’d from pg 1 Families without bank accounts are more likely to use nontraditional financial services, including check cashing services that charge fees – but banks and credit unions are offering more tools to reach financially underserved customers. real estate loans,” Pagenstecher told The Skanner. “Everything is open to noncitizens if they qualify.” Read more at TheSkanner.com
