April Jobs Report Reveals Highest Latino Unemployment Rate Since the Great Depression

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UnidosUS Jobs Report details pandemic’s disproportionate impact on Latinos

WASHINGTON, DC— As the nation reels from April job loss numbers not seen since the Great Depression, UnidosUS has found that Latinos were especially hard-hit with an 18.9 percent unemployment rate for U.S. Latinos compared to the national average of 14.7 percent, according to a report released today by the organization, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization (formerly known as National Council of La Raza).

The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged sectors of the economy where Latinos and other people of color make up a significant portion of the workforce. The leisure and hospitality sectors are among the industries where Latino employees saw the greatest losses; they make up nearly a quarter of all workers in leisure and hospitality. This has left families in financial freefall, unable to pay rent and mortgages and struggling to buy food and other basic necessities. It is imperative that Congress act now to mitigate the harm from the coronavirus economic crisis and include all taxpayers in future relief packages.

“These numbers are simply devastating for our community and country. We are seeing that Latinos are bearing the brunt of this pandemic because they hold a disproportionate number of jobs in devastated industries such as hospitality, transportation and travel. And because these are often hourly or gig jobs, they do not have benefits such as sick leave and other paid time off,” stated UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía. “Thus, these workers and their families need both emergency and longer-term assistance from the federal government to get through this crisis. And the alarming rate of job loss overall among Latinos and other communities in similar circumstances underscores the need for stimulus efforts that fully include everyone.”

To view the full report, click here. And next week, UnidosUS will host several events focusing on the widespread economic impact of the pandemic on the community, including an event with several mayors around the country highlighting the need for greater funding for localities; a session with Color of Change on new polling data showing how Latinos are being left out of federal assistance and an economic roundtable on the need to include Latinos in the next stimulus legislation.