Latina workers are heavily represented in the industries most affected by COVID-19 shutdowns: Shares of Latinx and white workers employed in major industries, by gender, 2017--2019; industries ranked by percent change in employment between February and May 2020
| Industry | Latinx men | Latinx women | White men | White women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leisure and hospitality <br>(-41.8%) | 11.6% | 14.6% | 7.3% | 9.0% |
| Other services (-18.4%) | 4.6% | 6.0% | 3.9% | 4.8% |
| Retail trade (-12.8%) | 10.4% | 12.2% | 10.8% | 10.8% |
| Education services (-12.3%) | 3.5% | 10.4% | 6.1% | 15.6% |
| Professional and business services (-10.0%) | 10.9% | 10.1% | 13.2% | 10.4% |
| Transportation and utilities <br>(-9.7%) | 7.9% | 3.1% | 7.2% | 2.5% |
| Health care and social assistance (-9.0%) | 4.1% | 19.9% | 5.5% | 22.5% |
| Manufacturing (-8.9%) | 12.1% | 7.7% | 15.1% | 6.1% |
| Construction (-7.8%) | 18.9% | 1.6% | 10.4% | 1.7% |
| Public administration (-6.9%) | 3.2% | 3.7% | 5.6% | 4.5% |
| Financial activities (-2.8%) | 4.3% | 6.2% | 6.6% | 8.3% |
Notes: White refers to non-Latinx whites; persons whose ethnicity is identified as Latinx may be of any race. Sectors are listed in order of job losses as a share of February 2020 employment within each sector (e.g., job losses were greatest in leisure and hospitality). Agriculture is omitted because data for this sector are not available in the payroll employment data; information and wholesale are omitted as they each make up less than 4% of total employment; mining is omitted because it accounts for less than 1% of total employment.
Source: Authors’ analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics and Current Population Survey microdata.