How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families’ Employment and Financial Well-Being | Urban Institute 2/20/21, 7:06 PM

Urban Wire :: Race and Ethnicity RSS

The blog of the Urban Institute

How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families

Employment and Financial Well-Being
Steven Brown | May 6, 2020

As tens of millions of Americans file for unemployment insurance, a new nationally representative su
late March and early April, just over 4 in 10 nonelderly Black adults belong to families in which someo
furloughed or had hours cut, or lost work-related income because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Although the employment-related losses closely followed the national average (40.7 percent of Black
41.5 percent of adults nationally), underlying structural factors, such as occupational segregation and
suggest families of color will face disproportionately greater challenges as the COVID-19 crisis conti

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being Page 1 of 9
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families’ Employment and Financial Well-Being | Urban Institute 2/20/21, 7:06 PM

(Note: while the data source cited uses the term Hispanic, I’ve chosen to use Latino in the text to be more incl
group self-identifies.)

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being Page 2 of 9
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families’ Employment and Financial Well-Being | Urban Institute 2/20/21, 7:06 PM

Many Black and Latino workers hold risky and low-paying jobs
Before the crisis hit, many Black and Latino workers held jobs done outside the home. Only 35.4 perc
25.2 percent of Latino adults reported they can do part of their work remotely, compared with 43.4 p
Though reporting somewhat higher averages, these estimates largely correspond with earlier US Bur
(BLS) data on racial and ethnic differences in the ability to work from home.

Differences in who can telework could indicate who’s at higher risk of losing a job, hours, or income. B
sources showing Black and Latino adults are less able to work from home compared with white adult
Black adults experienced only minimally higher rates of job loss.

Black workers in particular are disproportionately employed in many of the jobs considered “essentia
workers may experience less drastic job losses than would be expected.

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being Page 3 of 9
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families’ Employment and Financial Well-Being | Urban Institute 2/20/21, 7:06 PM

The frightening trade-off for many of these still-employed workers is that despite still earning income
of contracting the coronavirus through increased exposure to other people and potentially contamin
working in nursing homes and the sanitation industry and as bus drivers and shipping and logistics em
getting exposed to and catching the coronavirus.
Preliminary state data strongly suggest Black people are contracting the coronavirus and dying from
complications at highly disproportionate rates. Although racial and ethnic demographic information i
the reported cases, the early data are deeply worrisome and reflective of the ongoing impacts of stru
That workers of color end up in different kinds of jobs is not random. Occupational segregation has b
of the labor market for decades because of differences in education, place of residence, segregated jo
networks, and persistent discrimination in hiring.
These jobs are indeed essential, but many pay relatively low wages. That these jobs are held primarily
especially by Black workers is not surprising, but it is concerning. The pay and protection of essential

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being Page 4 of 9
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families’ Employment and Financial Well-Being | Urban Institute 2/20/21, 7:06 PM

primary concern for policymakers and employers in the coming months, as the economy recovers and
net.

Black and Latino families are generally more financially vulnerable,

unemployment makes it worse
Black and Latino adults also report higher rates of family financial insecurity and hardship. More than
and Latino adults said that in the past month, their families experienced material hardship, such as
inability to fully pay their mortgage, rent, or utilities—almost double the share of white adults and the
Larger shares of Black and Latino adults also reported their families had to delay major purchases, cu
food, and reduce saving or increase credit card debt, regardless of whether they had lost jobs, hours,
The most recent data on wealth show Black and Latino households already hold much less wealth tha
percent and 12 percent as much at the median, respectively.
With fewer resources to draw upon, it’s unsurprising that so many Black and Latino families report dr
increasing credit card debt to weather the crisis. But this relative financial insecurity makes the situa
challenging for families of color who may have lost work.

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being Page 5 of 9
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families’ Employment and Financial Well-Being | Urban Institute 2/20/21, 7:06 PM

Among families who had reported a loss of a job, hours, or income, more than half of Black adults and
Latino adults reported that their families used up most of their savings, pulled funds out of long-term
increased their credit card debt. Families of color are in especially vulnerable positions upon losing a
current crisis, more than 58 percent of Black and Latino families are estimated to be in liquid asset po
don’t have enough liquid savings to cover three months of expenses.

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being Page 6 of 9
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families’ Employment and Financial Well-Being | Urban Institute 2/20/21, 7:06 PM

Although some states are beginning to reopen their economies, most projections suggest families ma
furlough for months to come, and the unemployment rate is estimated to still be above 10 percent by

Although unemployment insurance has been expanded, many families still struggle to access benefits
technological and staffing challenges and overwhelming demand. Furthermore, the $600-a-week sup
end in July. Even if families can get access, most Black and Latino families who cannot resume work a
and pay will likely be unable to sustain themselves into the fall.
Black jobseekers typically have the highest unemployment rates of all racial and ethnic groups. Even w
unemployment rate decreased to a record low of 5.4 percent in August 2018, the white unemployme
percentage points lower. The COVID-19 crisis will almost certainly mark the highest Black unemploy
when the BLS began collecting unemployment data by race, and the time it takes to for the economy t
widespread economic devastation among communities of color, exhausting their limited wealth and d
debt that will take even longer to pay down.

What to do next
Families of color experience greater financial insecurity because of long histories of employment disc
hindered pay, housing discrimination that limited wealth building, and residential segregation that slo
them through the current crisis, immediate efforts to increase access to jobs and prevent unsustainab
will be particularly beneficial.

And given that Black families are suffering more acutely from COVID-19 related deaths, any efforts t
have experienced financial hardship would provide much needed and deserved support.
Policymakers could consider the following:

increasing protection and pay for essential workers

establishing a federal jobs program to get people back to work and prevent extended periods of
people of color

supporting efforts to stabilize renters, such as a universal voucher program for low-income ren
forbearance and repayment plans; and improve access to refinancing for homeowners

developing assistance programs for families who have lost loved ones from COVID-19 to help c
funeral expenses, and lost income from having to quarantine and care for sick family members

undertake bold promising solutions to improve financial well-being, overcome structural racism
jobs for all workers

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being Page 7 of 9
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families’ Employment and Financial Well-Being | Urban Institute 2/20/21, 7:06 PM

Geri Andre-Major holds her son Maverick, 2 1/2 weeks, on March 26, 2020 in Mount Vernon, New York. Andre-Ma
as a preschool teacher at Chelsea Piers Connecticut on March 13, four days after giving birth, and her maternity lea
off, as schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Her husband was laid off as a chef consultant. The family lef
Rochelle, NY, hard hit by COVID-19, to live temporarily with Geri's parents. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

SHARE THIS PAGE

https://urbn.is/2yyrmsq SHARE

RELATED CONTENT

COVID-19 Racial Health Disparities Highlight Why We Need to Address Structural Racism
Read more

Will the Pandemic Encourage Policymakers to Implement Stronger Workplace Protections for Indep
Read more
SIGN UP FOR REGULAR UPDATES

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTERS

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being Page 8 of 9
How COVID-19 Is Affecting Black and Latino Families’ Employment and Financial Well-Being | Urban Institute 2/20/21, 7:06 PM

FOLLOW US Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

TAGS

RACE AND ETHNICITY FINANCE INCOME AND WEALTH JOB MARKET AND LABOR FORCE

As an organization, the Urban Institute does not take positions on issues. Experts are independent and empowe
evidence-based views and recommendations shaped by research.

SUPPORT URBAN INSTITUTE »

ABOUT NEWSLETTERS CAREERS PRIVACY TERMS OF SERVICE

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-covid-19-affecting-black-and-latino-families-employment-and-financial-well-being Page 9 of 9