Study: Latinas left jobs more than other demographics during pandemic
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A new report shows Latinas got hit especially hard throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a report by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative, Latinas have left the workforce at rates higher than any other demographic during the pandemic. They also had some of the highest unemployment rates.
A labor economist at the University of California, Berkley, says businesses aren’t offering higher pay and benefits so that more Latinas who quit their jobs can re-enter the workforce. On top of that, many Latina moms needed to stay home with their kids to teach online learning.
Yemberly Perez is just one of many Latinas in the country who found themselves without a job during the coronavirus pandemic. She says housekeeping offered work once a month because of the coronavirus, but it became a difficult situation. To help make ends meet, she quit her job last year and is now depending on her new balloon business called Cute Perfect Art.
Perez says she struggled at the beginning because there weren’t any parties to cater, but business is growing.
Perla Ramos owns a day care in Indianapolis. She says three of her employees left because it made sense for them to leave a part-time job that paid less and stay with their kids without paying someone to do it.
She adds that her business got impacted because the majority of the moms don’t have a job, so kids aren’t coming in. Now, Ramos is by herself and is hoping to increase business to provide job opportunities.