Amid Racism Controversy, Marginalized US Hispanic Community Faces Soaring Unemployment Due to COVID-19

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Since the death of Black man George Floyd, voices calling for the reduction of Black inequality have grown across the United States, but it has been revealed that the most economically vulnerable racial group currently is the Hispanic community. Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the marginalization of Hispanics in the U.S. labor market has become even more pronounced.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) under the Department of Labor on the 15th (local time), the unemployment rate for Hispanic Americans last month was 17.6%, more than 4 percentage points higher than the overall average of 13.3%. This is the highest compared to Whites (12.4%), Blacks or African Americans (16.8%), and Asian Americans (15.0%). Until March, before the COVID-19 situation, the unemployment rate for Hispanics was lower than that of African Americans, but it rose to 18.9% in just one month, surpassing the Black unemployment rate (16.7%). The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) recently pointed out in its monetary policy report that "while unemployment rates for all races surged, the Hispanic unemployment rate increased the most during this period (May)."

In particular, among women who suffered greater damage in the labor market, the unemployment rate for Hispanic women aged 20 and over was 20.2% in April, significantly higher than that of White women (15.0%) and Black women (16.4%). The unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 19 also showed that Hispanics were the most affected. The reason Hispanics were hit harder than Blacks is that they occupy jobs most vulnerable to the pandemic. Hispanics have a high proportion of employment in lodging, food services, and retail sectors in the U.S. labor market.

Despite this reality, the Hispanic community has recently been somewhat sidelined in U.S. social discussions aimed at reducing racial gaps. Although inequalities between not only Blacks but also Hispanics and Whites have been pointed out, attention has been focused on specific races. According to The Atlantic, the high school dropout rate for Hispanics aged 16 to 24 was 8.0% as of 2018, higher than Blacks (6.4%), Whites (4.2%), and Asians (1.9%). Since disparities in education levels affect income and can lead to labor market inequality, there are calls for structural support for vulnerable groups such as Hispanics.

As of May, the number of Hispanic workers in the U.S. was 28,218,000, exceeding that of African Americans (19,858,000) and Asians (16,385,000).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.