COVID-19, Immigrants and Unemployment in US -The gap has closedr

As businesses across the United States return to near-normal operations, public attention has shifted to reports of labor shortages and rising prices. But even as hiring picks up in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the labor market is not fully healed. Some 9.5 million U.S. workers were unemployed in June 2021, compared with 5.7 million in February 2020, and the unemployment rate stood at 5.9%, up from 3.5%, seasonally adjusted.

A line graph showing that unemployment increased more sharply among immigrants during pandemic, then fell more quickly Immigrants were hit harder than U.S.-born workers at the beginning of the pandemic, but they have since closed the gap, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data. There were 27.3 million foreign-born workers in the U.S. in 2020, accounting for 17.0% of the total labor force. They entered the pandemic on the same footing as U.S.-born workers but saw their unemployment rate increase more sharply with the onset of the COVID-19 recession. A year later, with the economic recovery gaining momentum, unemployment among immigrants is about equal with that of U.S.-born workers. However, for both groups, the unemployment rate remains greater than the pre-pandemic level.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story @ U.S. immigrants faced higher unemployment under COVID-19 but gap has closed | Pew Research Center