Latino Jobs Report: Latino Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly to 8.5%

Abstract

The February 2021 jobs report shows that economic activity is ticking up in key sectors like leisure and hospitality as pandemic-related restrictions ease up in states. In February, the economy gained 379,000 jobs, an improvement following the significant job losses in December 2020 and the modest gains in January 2021.

However, the Latino unemployment rate remains high at 8.5% compared to the national average of 6.4%. The Latino workforce participation rate is up slightly, though still down from the pre-pandemic levels in February 2020. While the February jobs report shows some encouraging employment trends, it’s clear that the economic recovery will be much slower for Latino workers.