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The COVID-19 recession hit Latino workers hard. Here’s what we need to do.

The COVID-19 recession hit Latino workers hard. Here’s what we need to do.

Published

3 years ago

on

By Aaron Klein, Ariel Gelrud Shiro

The nature of the COVID-19 recession is a double whammy for Latino workers. First, Latino workers are disproportionately concentrated in industries more deeply impacted by the recession (restaurants, hotels, construction). Second, they are underrepresented in the industries least impacted (finance, telecom, information).

The result is that Latino workers are experiencing greater economic hardship and facing a more challenging future. Compounding this problem, the Trump Administration has chosen to reduce access to COVID-19 recession relief for many Latino families. Future relief by Congress needs to counter these policy choices to promote both economic growth and fight against systemic inequality.

Many Latino jobs were lost and they’re not coming back quickly

When COVID-19 struck there was no way to avoid a major blow to Latino workers and families. Latinos comprised about one out of every six (16%)  workers before the recession, but their share varies largely by industry. Latinos make up more than one in four (27%) workers in construction, over one in five (22%) in leisure and hospitality, and nearly one in five (19%) in mining and oil extraction. This explains much of the growth in the unemployment gap between Latino and white workers; a gap that is nearly three times what it was at the beginning of the year.

The racial gap in the unemployment rate has nearly tripled

Latino unemployment

The leisure and hospitality industry, which employed more than 16 million people before COVID-19, lost 8 million jobs in the first two months of the recession. Many of these jobs simply have not returned: nearly 1 in 4 jobs in leisure and hospitality that existed in February have not come back in August. That is almost four million jobs in an industry that is 22% Latino. Job losses are even more acute among hotel workers where 38% of jobs have disappeared.[1]

The first two months of the recession also saw more than 1 million construction jobs vanish. A subsequent rebound has brought back a little more than half of those jobs. And roughly 1 in 7 jobs in mining and oil extraction remain lost.

What about the gig-economy? Before Covid struck, Latinos comprised 1 in 4 gig workers. In July 2020, half of all Latino households in Arizona, Florida, and Texas lost some income from gig or contract work according to a survey conducted by Unidos. Job losses from the recession in the gig-economy are disproportionately impacting Latino families.

Other sectors of the economy were less affected

At the same time, the industries that have fared the best during the COVID-19 crisis are those with low shares of Latino workers. For example, finance has essentially experienced no job loss in the COVID-19 recession (99.5% of all prior jobs remain intact), but only 1 in 9 workers in the industry are Latino. Similarly, the information industry (comprised of telecommunications, data processing, publishing, and broadcasting) has lost about 11% of its jobs, but only 1 in 10 workers are Latino.

The industries least impacted by the recession employ fewer Latinos while the industries most impacted are heavily Latino. This explains why half of all Latino workers lost their jobs or took pay cuts when the COVID-19 shutdown began in March, compared to only one in three Americans broadly.

Policies should recognize the reality Latino workers face 

The Treasury Department notably denied eligibility for stimulus payments to those who are married to immigrants lacking social security numbers and to children with a non-citizen parent. Denying these families access to the $1,200 per adult and $500 per qualifying child disproportionately hurts Latino families who are already facing greater economic hardship in this recession.

The Treasury Department should immediately overturn this decision on the basis of both economic logic and fairness. Absent that, Congress needs to change the law to require the Treasury to do the right thing. The House of Representatives has proposed this change in the HEROES Act, providing benefits to an additional 3.5 million children and 4.3 million tax-paying adults. Children should not be punished for their parents’ place of birth, especially as many of them are going hungry.

Extend unemployment payments, not PPP 

A second policy solution is to extend enhanced unemployment benefits. Congress initially provided an extra $600 a week to those who had lost their job through no fault of their own due to the COVID-19 recession. As documented, jobs are not quickly returning in the leisure and hospitality industry, while they have almost all returned in finance. Failing to extend enhanced benefits means those who worked in certain industries will suffer more than others. Unemployment benefit extension is thus particularly important for Latino workers.

One policy solution unlikely to help fix this gap is another round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Originally designed as a grant program to help businesses keep employees on payroll during a temporary COVID-19 lock-down, PPP struggled to get money to minority-owned businesses. More than 3 out of 7 PPP dollars went to larger firms asking for $1 million or more to cover eight weeks of payroll; hardly mom and pop shops. New proposals in Congress allow for forty percent of PPP funds to pay business expenses, not workers. Another round of PPP is unlikely to address the problem.

The COVID-19 recession is far from over. Its full duration and the shape of its recovery are unknown. What is known is that the industries hit hardest are those that employ the greatest share of Latinos and other racial minorities, while the industries least affected are disproportionately white. Congress and the Administration should be focused on solutions that help workers in severely impacted industries, recognizing that Latinos are particularly affected.

[1] Unless otherwise stated, job numbers and levels are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly employment report using February for the baseline pre-COVID-19 and August figures (reported as of the date this article is published) for current data. Latino composition relies on prior BLS surveys cited in the piece.

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Low Iron Levels In Blood Could Trigger Long COVID: Study

Low Iron Levels In Blood Could Trigger Long COVID: Study

Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

People with inadequate…

Published

10 hours ago

on

March 9, 2024

By

Low Iron Levels In Blood Could Trigger Long COVID: Study

Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

People with inadequate iron levels in their blood due to a COVID-19 infection could be at greater risk of long COVID.

(Shutterstock)

A new study indicates that problems with iron levels in the bloodstream likely trigger chronic inflammation and other conditions associated with the post-COVID phenomenon. The findings, published on March 1 in Nature Immunology, could offer new ways to treat or prevent the condition.

Long COVID Patients Have Low Iron Levels

Researchers at the University of Cambridge pinpointed low iron as a potential link to long-COVID symptoms thanks to a study they initiated shortly after the start of the pandemic. They recruited people who tested positive for the virus to provide blood samples for analysis over a year, which allowed the researchers to look for post-infection changes in the blood. The researchers looked at 214 samples and found that 45 percent of patients reported symptoms of long COVID that lasted between three and 10 months.

In analyzing the blood samples, the research team noticed that people experiencing long COVID had low iron levels, contributing to anemia and low red blood cell production, just two weeks after they were diagnosed with COVID-19. This was true for patients regardless of age, sex, or the initial severity of their infection.

According to one of the study co-authors, the removal of iron from the bloodstream is a natural process and defense mechanism of the body.

But it can jeopardize a person’s recovery.

“When the body has an infection, it responds by removing iron from the bloodstream. This protects us from potentially lethal bacteria that capture the iron in the bloodstream and grow rapidly. It’s an evolutionary response that redistributes iron in the body, and the blood plasma becomes an iron desert,” University of Oxford professor Hal Drakesmith said in a press release. “However, if this goes on for a long time, there is less iron for red blood cells, so oxygen is transported less efficiently affecting metabolism and energy production, and for white blood cells, which need iron to work properly. The protective mechanism ends up becoming a problem.”

The research team believes that consistently low iron levels could explain why individuals with long COVID continue to experience fatigue and difficulty exercising. As such, the researchers suggested iron supplementation to help regulate and prevent the often debilitating symptoms associated with long COVID.

“It isn’t necessarily the case that individuals don’t have enough iron in their body, it’s just that it’s trapped in the wrong place,” Aimee Hanson, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge who worked on the study, said in the press release. “What we need is a way to remobilize the iron and pull it back into the bloodstream, where it becomes more useful to the red blood cells.”

The research team pointed out that iron supplementation isn’t always straightforward. Achieving the right level of iron varies from person to person. Too much iron can cause stomach issues, ranging from constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain to gastritis and gastric lesions.

1 in 5 Still Affected by Long COVID

COVID-19 has affected nearly 40 percent of Americans, with one in five of those still suffering from symptoms of long COVID, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Long COVID is marked by health issues that continue at least four weeks after an individual was initially diagnosed with COVID-19. Symptoms can last for days, weeks, months, or years and may include fatigue, cough or chest pain, headache, brain fog, depression or anxiety, digestive issues, and joint or muscle pain.

Tyler Durden Sat, 03/09/2024 - 12:50

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Walmart joins Costco in sharing key pricing news

The massive retailers have both shared information that some retailers keep very close to the vest.

Published

13 hours ago

on

March 9, 2024

By

As we head toward a presidential election, the presumed candidates for both parties will look for issues that rally undecided voters. 

The economy will be a key issue, with Democrats pointing to job creation and lowering prices while Republicans will cite the layoffs at Big Tech companies, high housing prices, and of course, sticky inflation.

The covid pandemic created a perfect storm for inflation and higher prices. It became harder to get many items because people getting sick slowed down, or even stopped, production at some factories.

Related: Popular mall retailer shuts down abruptly after bankruptcy filing

It was also a period where demand increased while shipping, trucking and delivery systems were all strained or thrown out of whack. The combination led to product shortages and higher prices.

You might have gone to the grocery store and not been able to buy your favorite paper towel brand or find toilet paper at all. That happened partly because of the supply chain and partly due to increased demand, but at the end of the day, it led to higher prices, which some consumers blamed on President Joe Biden's administration.

Biden, of course, was blamed for the price increases, but as inflation has dropped and grocery prices have fallen, few companies have been up front about it. That's probably not a political choice in most cases. Instead, some companies have chosen to lower prices more slowly than they raised them.

However, two major retailers, Walmart (WMT) and Costco, have been very honest about inflation. Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon's most recent comments validate what Biden's administration has been saying about the state of the economy. And they contrast with the economic picture being painted by Republicans who support their presumptive nominee, Donald Trump.

Walmart has seen inflation drop in many key areas.

Image source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Walmart sees lower prices

McMillon does not talk about lower prices to make a political statement. He's communicating with customers and potential customers through the analysts who cover the company's quarterly-earnings calls.

During Walmart's fiscal-fourth-quarter-earnings call, McMillon was clear that prices are going down.

"I'm excited about the omnichannel net promoter score trends the team is driving. Across countries, we continue to see a customer that's resilient but looking for value. As always, we're working hard to deliver that for them, including through our rollbacks on food pricing in Walmart U.S. Those were up significantly in Q4 versus last year, following a big increase in Q3," he said.

He was specific about where the chain has seen prices go down.

"Our general merchandise prices are lower than a year ago and even two years ago in some categories, which means our customers are finding value in areas like apparel and hard lines," he said. "In food, prices are lower than a year ago in places like eggs, apples, and deli snacks, but higher in other places like asparagus and blackberries."

McMillon said that in other areas prices were still up but have been falling.

"Dry grocery and consumables categories like paper goods and cleaning supplies are up mid-single digits versus last year and high teens versus two years ago. Private-brand penetration is up in many of the countries where we operate, including the United States," he said.

Costco sees almost no inflation impact

McMillon avoided the word inflation in his comments. Costco  (COST)  Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti, who steps down on March 15, has been very transparent on the topic.

The CFO commented on inflation during his company's fiscal-first-quarter-earnings call.

"Most recently, in the last fourth-quarter discussion, we had estimated that year-over-year inflation was in the 1% to 2% range. Our estimate for the quarter just ended, that inflation was in the 0% to 1% range," he said.

Galanti made clear that inflation (and even deflation) varied by category.

"A bigger deflation in some big and bulky items like furniture sets due to lower freight costs year over year, as well as on things like domestics, bulky lower-priced items, again, where the freight cost is significant. Some deflationary items were as much as 20% to 30% and, again, mostly freight-related," he added.

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Walmart has really good news for shoppers (and Joe Biden)

The giant retailer joins Costco in making a statement that has political overtones, even if that’s not the intent.

Published

14 hours ago

on

March 9, 2024

By

As we head toward a presidential election, the presumed candidates for both parties will look for issues that rally undecided voters. 

The economy will be a key issue, with Democrats pointing to job creation and lowering prices while Republicans will cite the layoffs at Big Tech companies, high housing prices, and of course, sticky inflation.

The covid pandemic created a perfect storm for inflation and higher prices. It became harder to get many items because people getting sick slowed down, or even stopped, production at some factories.

Related: Popular mall retailer shuts down abruptly after bankruptcy filing

It was also a period where demand increased while shipping, trucking and delivery systems were all strained or thrown out of whack. The combination led to product shortages and higher prices.

You might have gone to the grocery store and not been able to buy your favorite paper towel brand or find toilet paper at all. That happened partly because of the supply chain and partly due to increased demand, but at the end of the day, it led to higher prices, which some consumers blamed on President Joe Biden's administration.

Biden, of course, was blamed for the price increases, but as inflation has dropped and grocery prices have fallen, few companies have been up front about it. That's probably not a political choice in most cases. Instead, some companies have chosen to lower prices more slowly than they raised them.

However, two major retailers, Walmart (WMT) and Costco, have been very honest about inflation. Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon's most recent comments validate what Biden's administration has been saying about the state of the economy. And they contrast with the economic picture being painted by Republicans who support their presumptive nominee, Donald Trump.

Walmart has seen inflation drop in many key areas.

Image source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Walmart sees lower prices

McMillon does not talk about lower prices to make a political statement. He's communicating with customers and potential customers through the analysts who cover the company's quarterly-earnings calls.

During Walmart's fiscal-fourth-quarter-earnings call, McMillon was clear that prices are going down.

"I'm excited about the omnichannel net promoter score trends the team is driving. Across countries, we continue to see a customer that's resilient but looking for value. As always, we're working hard to deliver that for them, including through our rollbacks on food pricing in Walmart U.S. Those were up significantly in Q4 versus last year, following a big increase in Q3," he said.

He was specific about where the chain has seen prices go down.

"Our general merchandise prices are lower than a year ago and even two years ago in some categories, which means our customers are finding value in areas like apparel and hard lines," he said. "In food, prices are lower than a year ago in places like eggs, apples, and deli snacks, but higher in other places like asparagus and blackberries."

McMillon said that in other areas prices were still up but have been falling.

"Dry grocery and consumables categories like paper goods and cleaning supplies are up mid-single digits versus last year and high teens versus two years ago. Private-brand penetration is up in many of the countries where we operate, including the United States," he said.

Costco sees almost no inflation impact

McMillon avoided the word inflation in his comments. Costco  (COST)  Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti, who steps down on March 15, has been very transparent on the topic.

The CFO commented on inflation during his company's fiscal-first-quarter-earnings call.

"Most recently, in the last fourth-quarter discussion, we had estimated that year-over-year inflation was in the 1% to 2% range. Our estimate for the quarter just ended, that inflation was in the 0% to 1% range," he said.

Galanti made clear that inflation (and even deflation) varied by category.

"A bigger deflation in some big and bulky items like furniture sets due to lower freight costs year over year, as well as on things like domestics, bulky lower-priced items, again, where the freight cost is significant. Some deflationary items were as much as 20% to 30% and, again, mostly freight-related," he added.

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