NBC reports that Asian American New Yorkers experienced the highest surge in unemployment amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Asian American Federation’s recent report showed that at Asian Americans in NYC had an employment rate of 3.4% in February. By may, the rate surged to 25.6%, which was the highest increase among all major racial groups.
Year on year, the unemployment rate among Asian Americans in NYC spiked 6,900% in May.
Howard Shih, research and policy director for the Asian American Federation, said the results “point to the precariousness of many Asian low-income workers and the vulnerability revealed by the Covid shutdown.”
According to the study, Asian Americans filed for unemployment claims at a rate 2x to 5x faster between April and May compared to statewide claims.
Working class industries including laundry services and apparel manufacturing made up 20% of job losses.
F&B workers were also heavily hit due to pandemic restrictions. Prior to the pandemic, 1 in 10 Asian Americans were employed in New York’s F&B industry, which lost over 10% of its jobs.
Over 10,000 Asian Americans worked in the hospitality sector, which also saw a loss of 10% employment.
However, Filipino Americans managed to avoid many of the economic losses suffered by others but were more vulnerable to the disease itself due to their front-line occupations.
“With Filipino American workers being overrepresented in the health care industry relative to their share of the population, the community experienced a greater risk of exposure to the virus than the general population,” the report said.
In recent news, a 73-year-old Asian grandmother was shoved onto the subway tracks in Brooklyn.
