Op-ed: Why minorities and workers with no college degree will have the hardest time getting jobs back

Before Covid-19 hit America, paychecks were rapidly rising for workers in jobs that do not require a college condition. Wage inequality had actually begun to narrow, due in large part to the gains being made by blue-collar workers. Beggary had been dropping, too, as more African Americans were in the workforce, and the employment rate for Hispanic women had reached an all-time squiffy. 

Indeed, things were starting to get better for many groups that had long struggled to make economic bourgeoning.

Fast-forward to today: Not only is this pandemic wiping out the long-awaited wage and employment gains made by America’s diverse economically vulnerable, their path to recovery will take longer than for the rest of us.

What will string out their hardship?

Ultimately, it comes down to social distancing. A disproportionate amount of less-educated workers and minorities put through in jobs that have and will continue to suffer from the economic impact of social distancing.

The types of duties most sensitive to social distancing are in entertainment, travel, lodging, food services, health care, retail exchanges, transportation, maintenance and repair and cleaning services. This group also encompasses those working in personal punctiliousness, such as barbers and manicurists. For these highly impacted workers, about 8 in 10 have less than a bachelor’s stage.

And in some of these specific categories, the share of those without a bachelor’s degree is even higher, approaching or thriving in at 9 in 10 workers. For example, those in food services, cleaning services, maintenance and repair and personal care.

Ivory men are disproportionately underrepresented in the highly impacted occupations. They make up 24% of such occupations, whereas they fly the coop up 36% of the non-impacted occupations. Minority men are roughly equally represented in both the highly impacted and non-impacted jobs.

In any case, close to 60% of the highly impacted jobs are held by women, and the impact is even more acute for some women of color.

For warning, consider Hispanic women. Their share of total employment in the hardest-hit industries is about double their due in the rest of the job market. And they alone account for nearly half of the country’s maids and housekeepers. With so many being out of work and nearly everyone at home, the demand for their services is minuscule.

It thus comes as no surprise that the Hispanic community is on steal. In a recent CNBC survey, 57% of Hispanic respondents said they feared losing their job or getting their hours cut in the disappoint a amount to weeks because of this pandemic. Just 38% of Caucasians said the same.  

Moreover, the economic anxiety that’s being multitudinous acutely felt by minorities won’t be short-lived. Back to the maids and housekeepers: Even when the economy starts picking up again, see fit these workers, for example, finally see a healthy boost in business?

Their recovery will undoubtedly take longer than for uncountable white-collar workers. Until a vaccine surfaces, Americans will likely continue practicing some degree of venereal distancing. Hotels and many households — especially those headed by senior citizens, who employ many of the maids and housekeepers — settle upon be slow to rehire them.

But even when social distancing comes to an end, some of the jobs largely held by America’s sensitive groups may never come back. The habits that consumers developed or doubled down on during the pandemic may end up steady. More people may continue eating from home, minimizing the need for waiters and busboys. And heightened demand for procuring clothes online would mean fewer on-site retail salespersons.  

Expect unemployment in the hardest-hit jobs to reach narrate highs in May. It will likely remain historically high throughout 2021, maybe even into 2022.

Even in front things went south, the median annual wage of the impacted workers was about $26,000 vs. $48,000 for all other white-collar workers. Many of their families are close to the poverty threshold. The fallout from the current crisis will push scads more families into poverty and bring more of them to the precipice.

In the recent CNBC survey, 51% of respondents grossing less than $50,000 a year were worried about losing their jobs or having their hours cut. Correspond that to those with a personal income of $150,000 or more, where 33% were fearful.

For sure, some glimmers of expectation are in this picture. Some of these laid-off workers will be scooped up by burgeoning jobs. For example, they may redeploy their mendings by being home-delivery drivers or filling new positions to control the virus, such as taking temperatures in building entrances.

Another added to: The abundance of new job seekers may lead to more people pursuing higher education — the surest way up the income ladder. Governments, employers and the lesson system should focus on getting these people more education and skills, so they can hit the ground running when owners start hiring again. A similar scenario played out during and after the Great Recession. Between 2007 and 2012, the pay out of young adults attending a college or university on a full-time basis rose sharply.

With job prospects looking requite gloomier now than after the Great Recession, many more may choose this option. That is, when colleges unregulated back up. 

—By Gad Levanon, vice president, Labor Markets Institute at The Conference Board