There’s been significant discussion about systemic racism since Floyd’s death, but new research from our friends at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) illustrates how racism has also meant Black workers have been disproportionally impacted by the pandemic.
EPI’s Elise Gould and Valerie Wilson find that “racial disparities in health status, access to health care, wealth, employment, wages, housing, income, and poverty all contribute to greater susceptibility to the virus—both economically and physically.”
Black workers make up one in nine workers overall, about 11.9 percent of the workforce, EPI reports. But Black workers account for one in six “front-line-industry workers,” including 26 percent of public transit workers, 18.2 percent of trucking, warehouse, and postal service jobs, 19.3 percent of childcare and social service workers, and 14.2 percent of grocery, convenience, and drug store workers.