Coronavirus Economy: Hispanic Women Among The Hardest Hit By Job Losses

Hispanics have been among the groups hardest hit by devastating job losses arising from the covid-19 pandemic and related business shutdowns.

A report from the Pew Research Center indicated that, even with the surprising job gains reported in May, the U.S. labor market shed 20.6 million jobs, or 13% of the overall workforce, between February and May. These job losses disproportionately affected Hispanic women, immigrants and young adults.

Pew noted that job losses recorded in the first three months of the pandemic were more than double amount of job cuts over a two-year period during the Great Recession. Between the end of 2007 and the end of 2009, U.S. employment dropped by 8 million, or 5% of the workforce.

Hispanics women often work in fields – leisure, retail and hospitality services, including hotels, restaurants, bars, building services – that have suffered widespread job cuts. The leisure and hospitality sector alone lost 39% of its workforce from February to May – a far greater rate than any other sector. Interestingly, Hispanic women did not endure massive job losses during the Great Recession.

“[Among the U.S.-born] Hispanic workers were more likely than non-Hispanic workers to have lost jobs from February to May,” Pew stated. “Among the foreign born, employment losses have been equally sharp for Hispanic and non-Hispanic workers,” with a 19% plunge for each group.

Pew indicated that Hispanics tend to be younger than the overall population and less likely to have college degrees – two factors that place them at higher risk for job losses during economic crises.

“Also, 44% of Hispanic immigrants in the workforce are estimated to have been unauthorized in 2016, which also likely made them more vulnerable to job cuts,” Pew added.

"Migrants are not only the first ones to lose their job but will be the last ones to regain it," said Manuel Orozco, a director at the Inter-American Dialogue, a U.S.-based think tank.

Anabel, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, worked as a cleaner in office buildings and stores in Los Angeles for 12 years. She has been unable to pay her rent since one of her employers shut down.

"All of us here in the apartment building have gone to the manager and said we can't pay," Anabel said. "How can we pay without jobs?"

Hispanics are heavily represented among the nation’s 2.5 million domestic workers – many of whom have lost their jobs due to social distancing rules. About one-half of these workers are Hispanics and more than 90% are female. As many are undocumented, they can’t apply for government relief programs and most have little or no savings.

In May, the overall unemployment rate for Hispanics stood at 17.6%, well above 13.3% national rate. (Latino unemployment was only 4.4% in February, just prior to the pandemic).

Jennifer Proano, a Florida resident, lost her job as a restaurant manager-server. She now fears losing her one-bedroom Miami Beach apartment.

“It meant the whole world to me to have my own little place in this world, something I can own by myself, working hard as I do, saving my money,” Proano said. “The money goes fast because you have all these bills to pay.”

Take for example the state of Georgia which has seen its Latino population surge in recent years.

Aixa Pascual, managing director of advocacy for the Atlanta Latin American Association, said her nonprofit has received hundreds of requests from families seeking rental assistance – many with no sources of income.

“Our communities tend to live at the margins of society. Less likely to be educated, more likely to be poor and uninsured. This crisis has amplified these gaps in society,” Pascual said.

Hispanic activists noted that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, only sends stimulus checks to people who have filed taxes using a Social Security number – which is out of reach for millions of undocumented immigrants.

“The official unemployment numbers are reminiscent of the Great Depression and confirm what we see in our communities: lines of cars, that look like a parking lot, waiting at the local food bank,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said last month. “We need urgent action from Congress to keep more workers employed and immediate economic assistance for all Americans beyond a one-time stimulus check.”