35% of Hispanics indicate that someone in the household has lost their job due to coronavirus, while 29% of entrepreneurs say that their businesses have suffered a loss of income or have had to be closed due to the public health crisis, according to a survey by Latino Decisions and the network of multilingual health providers WE ARE.
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But the coronavirus is also hitting those who have not lost their jobs. Thus, among those who keep their jobs, the survey shows that 46% said that they have suffered a cut in their income and the 43% have trouble meeting rent or mortgage payments.
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The study also indicates that job stability, health security to continue performing their jobs and access to health services are the issues that most concern the Hispanic community, a sector especially affected by the global crisis generated by the pandemic, which has forced the paralysis of many economic activities, especially those considered non-essential.
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For respondents, the main concern is the response given by the Congress and White House to the covid-19 crisis, followed by costs of health services, income improvement and job creation. These points are intertwined if it is considered that access to health depends in many cases on the availability of health insurance that is frequently obtained through the employer.
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Despite the fact that only 22% said they knew of friends or family infected with the virus, in the community there is a serious concern about impact on household finances and personal development (professional and educational) that the persistence of the crisis due to the disease can bring.
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Almost 9 out of 10 said they were “concerned” or “very concerned” that their local hospital would run out of resources to care for the sick.
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For the survey, conducted by the Hispanic public opinion firm Latino Decisions, 1,200 people identified as Hispanic across the country were interviewed between April 7 and 12. It was a work done via telephone and internet that, according to the work method used by the pollsters, reflects the profile of the Hispanic community in the United States.
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At “high risk”
Most of the people who answered the questionnaire (56%), assured that none of the household members is working from home.
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It is something that seems to be linked to the type of work carried out by many members of the community, who performstill in the service sector (shops, supermarkets and restaurants), agricultural and construction jobs. In these sectors the presence of the worker is usually essential, so many cannot adopt the health recommendations of working remotely from home to maintain the so-called ‘social distancing’.
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In a situation in which almost 4 out of 10 respondents said that he or someone from his home continues to attend his place of employment and is not doing it remotely, as health authorities advise, a large proportion admits that they fear going Working puts your health at “high risk”.
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More than a third of them say they do not feel safe in their workplace, because they state that “they do not have the necessary procedures or equipment”, such as masks, gloves or disinfectant gel to protect them from contracting covid-19.
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“My workplace puts me at high risk of getting sick,” says that group.
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A paper from the Institute for Economic Policy, a center for studies and policy design located in Washington DC, entitled “Not everyone can work from home”, indicates that despite the perception that workers are performing their tasks from home security, only 30% of the US workforce can do it and there are great disparities by ethnic or racial groups. The work uses figures from the Department of Labor to conclude that in the case of Hispanics only a little over 16% are capable of doing so.
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The crisis associated with the pandemic surprises Hispanics when they experienced record low levels of unemployment (4.4% in January 2020, according to the Department of Labor) and the community was beginning to feel a recovery in purchasing power devastated by the Great Recession 2008, when Hispanics were doubly affected by the housing crisis and job destruction the economy suffered.
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Bad prospects
As disturbing as the current situation may be, the greatest concern of the Hispanic community lies in the consequences that the coronavirus crisis will bring.
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70% of those surveyed are “worried” (a lot or something) that he or someone in his immediate family may be out of a job.
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While a slightly higher figure, 76% are afraid of not being able to face basic expenses for housing, food or services should they lose their job or see their income decrease.
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The crisis has exposed the disparities in access to services that occur between communities and by income levels. Something that is evident in Internet access and use, which according to industry figures is one of the lowest by ethnic group in the US.
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In the case of Hispanics surveyed, 17% said they did not have regular internet access and 20% said they only had it through their phone. A third indicated that their telephone or internet service bill has increased as a result of the greater use they are giving to the service.
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The possible consequences on the educational training of children is another point considered by the respondents.
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Among the homes where its adult members are working from home and students continue their online classes, the third part affirms that they do not have enough computers or tablets for the use of the whole family.
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58% say that learning is more difficult in the new situation due to difficulties in communicating with teachers, while almost half say they cannot help their children because he is not familiar with the subjects and the tasks.
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As a consequence, a similar percentage expresses concern that young people “fall behind” in learning.
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The coronavirus crisis threatens to aggravate a historically disadvantageous situation for Hispanics, who make up the group with the highest dropout rates at 8.6%, higher than that of African-Americans (6.2%) and whites (5.2%), according to the data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
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