The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on millions of employed Americans, but a new report shows it was particularly devastating for Latinas.
That demographic group exited the workforce more than any other, according to the findings from the UCLA Latino Police and Politics Initiative, a Latino-focused think tank.
Structural obstacles that contributed to the stark numbers included hyper-segregation in low-paying jobs vulnerable to pandemic shutdowns, a lack of access to education and training opportunities that would allow them to move away from low-wage labor jobs, and lack of child-care access, according to the report.
Before the pandemic, Latinas were projected to transform the U.S. labor force and grow in number by nearly 26% from 2019 to 2029 — a rate higher than any other group, the report said.
At 19.5%, Latinas experienced the highest unemployment rate of any demographic in April 2020, when shutdowns commenced, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The rate for Latinas and Black women nearly doubled compared to white women by December 2020, per the report quoted by ABC News.