The national unemployment rate was 14.7% in April 2020, evidence of the economic toll that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdowns have had on the economy. The downturn has affected the employment of different racial, ethnic, and gender groups differently.
Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 20.2% of Hispanic or Latino women in the labor force were unemployed in April, more than triple the 6% without jobs in March. The unemployment rate for Hispanic or Latino men jumped from 5.1% in March to 16.7% in April. For Black men, the unemployment rate more than doubled from 7% to 16.1%. The rate rose from 5.2% to 16.4% for Black women.
White, non-Hispanic men also had their unemployment rate triple from 3.7% in March to 12.4% in April, which is the lowest unemployment rate among groups that BLS breaks down by race, ethnicity, and gender.
