Democracy Dies in Darkness

Hispanics are almost twice as likely as whites to have lost their jobs amid pandemic, poll finds

Black Americans also more likely to be laid off or furloughed since economic shutdowns

May 6, 2020 at 7:36 p.m. EDT
Residents wait outside a market in East Hollywood, Calif., last month. Unemployment has soared among Latino immigrants because of the state's stay-at-home order. (Eugene Garcia/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Hispanics are nearly twice as likely as whites to have lost their jobs amid the coronavirus shutdowns, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll, underlining that the pandemic is wreaking a disproportionate toll on some racial and ethnic groups.

The poll finds that 20 percent of Hispanic adults and 16 percent of blacks report being laid off or furloughed since the outbreak began in the United States, compared with 11 percent of whites and 12 percent of workers of other races.