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USA: These are the groups most affected by unemployment 1:48
(CNN Business) - The coronavirus pandemic eliminated years of job gains for black and Hispanic workers within two months and caused the unemployment rate to skyrocket to record levels for nearly all major groups of workers.
READ: The United States economy loses a record 20.5 million jobs in April
The unemployment rate for black Americans rose to 16.7% in April, nearly triple the rate in February and the highest since early 2010, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday. The unemployment rate for Hispanic workers hit a record 18.9%, up from 4.4% two months ago.
Before the pandemic, unemployment rates for blacks and Hispanics had dropped to record lows.
Black and Hispanic workers are most affected by coronavirus job loss now, particularly because they are more likely to have lower-paying jobs and less likely to be able to work from home.
"This recession is particularly harsh for minorities and women given their representation in the hardest hit industries, from leisure and hospitality, retail and healthcare," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton.
White workers saw their unemployment rate jump to a record 14.2%, more than four times higher than in February. Asian Americans recorded a record unemployment rate of 14.5%, almost six times higher than two months ago.
The unemployment rate for adult women quintupled in April to 15.5%, while the rate for adult men almost tripled to 13%. And the youth unemployment rate tripled from February to April to almost 32%. All three were record numbers.
The pandemic has devastated the American job landscape. Most major industries shed millions of jobs.
Almost half of restaurant and hospitality workers lost their jobs last month when the coronavirus caused radical closings and restrictions on food and beverage establishments and hotels.
Leisure and hospitality employment plummeted to 7.7 million, or 47%. Almost three-quarters of the decline occurred in food and drinking services, but jobs in arts, entertainment, recreation and lodging were also lost.
Retailers lost 2.1 million jobs. Especially affected were the clothing and accessories stores, which lost 740,000 jobs.
Medical care was not immune to the crisis, even as the pandemic led many sick Americans to seek care in hospitals. The sector lost 1.4 million jobs, particularly in dentists 'and doctors' offices, whose patients stayed at home for fear of contracting or spreading the coronavirus. More than 500,000 dental jobs disappeared last month.
About 97% of dental offices across the country were closed for routine care in late April, and 87% cut some or all of their staff, said Marko Vujicic, chief economist at the American Dental Association. Many are reopening, but patient volume is only slightly more than a quarter of what it was before the pandemic.
Professional and business services cut 2.1 million jobs, and temporary help services are badly affected. And manufacturing employment fell 1.3 million.
A positive point to highlight: the warehouses and super centers gained 93,000 jobs.
Although states are beginning to reopen, economists say it will take time for companies to resume operations, and some will never return.
"The reality is that you need to have an economy strong enough to bring them (jobs) back," Swonk said. "In a world where it is very difficult, there is no dream time when you build or open (a business) and they will come."
Unemployment