Analysis: European Americans saw no change in their unemployment rate from March for the third straight month. Asian and Latino Americans saw an decrease of 90 basis points and 50 basis points, respectively. African Americans had an increase in their unemployment rate of 80 basis points for March.
AFRICAN AMERICAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BY GENDER & AGE
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN: 6.2%
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: 5.6%
AFRICAN AMERICAN TEENAGERS: 20.1%
AFRICAN AMERICAN PARTICIPATION BY GENDER & AGE
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN: 69.6%
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: 63.0%
AFRICAN AMERICAN TEENAGERS: 32.8%
Analysis: African American Men saw an increase in their unemployment rate by 10 basis points and African American Women increased by 120 basis points. African American Men and Women decreased their participation rate in March by 20 basis points and 40 basis points, respectively. African American Teenagers unemployment rate jumps by 470 basis points and 850 basis points over the past two months as their volatility continues. African American Teenagers also had their participation rate increase by 210 basis points up to their highest participation rate over the past five months.
African American Men-Women Job Gap: African American Women currently have 710,000 more jobs than African American Men in March. This is an decrease from 859,000 in February.
CONCLUSION: The overall economy added 303,000 jobs in February while African America lost 204,000 jobs. From CNBC, “This is another really strong report,” said Lauren Goodwin, economist and chief market strategist at New York Life Investments. “This report and the February report showed some broadening in terms of job creation, which is a very good sign.”
How long have you been in real estate investment? 6 years
What has been the most exciting and/or fearful moment during your HBCUpreneur career? The moment I decided to leave my full time job as a senior physical therapist at a top tier hospital and become a full time entrepreneur and manifest my destiny!
What made you want to start real estate investing? I wanted to create wealth and have the freedom with my time to spend it how I wanted.
How do you handle complex problems? I simplify them to the basics on what is necessary to complete first then move to the least and unimpactful item last.
Who was the most influential person/people for you during your time in college? My professors, they were always encouraging and talked real life aspects to prepare me for the real world outside of school.
What is something you wish you had known prior to your first real estate investment? That I should have started investing in real estate ever since I was working and living at home with my mother after I graduated. I didn’t have to have all the pieces in place before I started.
Would you advise someone to buy a primary home or investment property first? I would advise them to do both. A primary home can be utilized to be your investment property, can house hack with a duplex or a single family home large enough to rent out rooms if you desired. Or purchase a primary home that allows you to save for down payment to another investment property or home to move into and rent your current one out.
What is one current trend in real estate investing, and how can investors take advantage of it? The updated fannie mae conventional loan to buy a multi-family (2-4 door unit), allows 5% down payment. Before it required 20-25% down payment, that is why all opted for FHA 3.5% down payment, now you can scale to more properties as a primary residence without having to refinance out of FHA loan every year or so.
Artificial Intelligence is everywhere and its presence in real estate is certainly likely to grow like everywhere else. How do you see it impacting real estate investing in particular? I would want it to underwrite a deal for me quick and fast or I upload a video of the house and it tells me all the repairs needed and estimated costs, that would be cool.
Do you see any potential headwinds that maybe facing real estate investors in the near future? No, true investors learn to adapt in any environment and any obstacle. As long as your mind is right, you will persevere.
Is there anything you read or follow in order to stay an informed real estate investor? I listen to podcasts all on the real estate subject, I take webinars and active at different networking events.
How do you believe HBCUs can help spur more aptitude for understanding real estate investment while their students are in school either as undergraduate or graduate students? I would say to offer more financial literacy courses, help students to understand you can make money but if you are not smart with those decisions Uncle Sam and bad habits will leave you with nothing. Also, to understand all the different taxes that come out of paycheck, it helps to offset extra money with an llc.
How do you deal with rejection? I smile and say thank you for your time.
When you have down time how do you like to spend it? I spend it being harassed by my kids and/or watching movies.
What was your most memorable HBCU memory? I met my husband at a local nightclub in Tallahassee. He was also at FAMU grad school, different major than me.
Lastly, is there any advice you have for budding HBCUpreneurs in real estate? Discipline leads to habits, habits lead to consistency, consistency leads to growth. Changing your mindset will open more doors for you!
Analysis: Latino and European Americans both saw no change in their unemployment rate from January. Asian Americans saw an increase of 50 basis points change in their unemployment rate. African Americans had an increase in their unemployment rate of 30 basis points for January.
AFRICAN AMERICAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BY GENDER & AGE
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN: 6.1%
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: 4.4%
AFRICAN AMERICAN TEENAGERS: 15.4%
AFRICAN AMERICAN PARTICIPATION BY GENDER & AGE
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN: 69.8%
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: 63.4%
AFRICAN AMERICAN TEENAGERS: 30.7%
Analysis: African American Men saw an increase in their unemployment rates by 80 basis points while African American Women decreased by 40 basis points after three straight months of no change. African American Men and Women increased their participation rate in January by 40 basis points and 50 basis points, respectively. African American Teenagers unemployment rate jumps by 380 basis points as their volatility continues. African American Teenagers also had their participation rate decrease by 90 basis points back down to their lowest participation rate over the past five months.
African American Men-Women Job Gap: African American Women currently have 859,000 more jobs than African American Men in February. This is an increase from 728,000 in January.
CONCLUSION: The overall economy added 275,000 jobs in February while African America gained 63,000 jobs. From Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force changed little at 1.6 million in February. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, was little changed at 425,000 in February.”
Analysis: European and Latino Americans both saw an increase in their unemployment rate from November with an increase of 20 and 40 basis points, respectively. African and Asian Americans both had decreases in their unemployment rate with decreases of 60 and 40 basis points for both groups from November, respectively.
AFRICAN AMERICAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BY GENDER & AGE
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN: 4.6%
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: 4.8%
AFRICAN AMERICAN TEENAGERS: 18.0%
AFRICAN AMERICAN PARTICIPATION BY GENDER & AGE
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN: 69.2%
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: 63.2%
AFRICAN AMERICAN TEENAGERS: 30.7%
Analysis: African American Men saw a significant decrease in their unemployment rates by 180 basis points while African American Women remain unchanged from November. African American Men and Women both had decreases in their participation rate from November of 10 basis points and 40 basis points, respectively. Extreme volatility with African American Teenagers remains as their unemployment rate skyrocketed by 5800 basis points, but also seeing their participation rate decrease by 80 basis points.
African American Men-Women Job Gap: African American Women currently have 665,000 more jobs than African American Men in December. This is a decrease from 890,000 in November.
CONCLUSION: The overall economy added 216,000 jobs in December while African America gained 66,000 jobs. From NPR, “For all of 2023, employers added 2.7 million jobs. That’s a slowdown from the two previous years, when the economy was red-hot, rapidly rebounding from pandemic layoffs. But last year’s job growth was still stronger than every other year since 2015.”
Analysis: Asian Americans were the only group to see an increase in their unemployment rate from October with a 40 basis point increase. European and Latino American both had decreases in their unemployment rate with a 20 basis point decrease for both groups from October.
AFRICAN AMERICAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BY GENDER & AGE
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN: 6.4%
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: 4.8%
AFRICAN AMERICAN TEENAGERS: 12.2%
AFRICAN AMERICAN PARTICIPATION BY GENDER & AGE
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN: 69.2%
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN: 63.6%
AFRICAN AMERICAN TEENAGERS: 31.6%
Analysis: African American Men and Women saw an increase and decrease in their unemployment rates by 110 and 50 basis points, respectively. African American Men saw a 170 basis point increase in their participation rate from October while African American Women had a 10 basis point decrease in their participation rate from October. African American Teenagers remain an extremely volatile group with their unemployment rate plummet by 660 basis points, but also seeing their participation rate increase by 60 basis points.
African American Men-Women Job Gap: African American Women currently have 890,000 more jobs than African American Men in November. This is a decrease from 970,000 in October.
CONCLUSION: The overall economy added 199,000 jobs in November while African America gained 264,000 jobs. From CNBC, “The data first raised concerns that the economy was running too hot for inflation to cool enough for the Fed to start retreating from its high-rates policy. Some traders expect the Fed to start cutting rates as early as next spring, with its latest policy meeting set for Wednesday.”
HBCU Money 