Latinas exited workforce at highest rate during pandemic: Report

Latinas left the workforce at higher rates than any other demographic in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report.

Latinas left the workforce at higher rates than any other demographic during the COVID-19 pandemic, with little sign of recuperating even as the country starts to reopen, according to a new report. From March 2020 to March 2021, the number of Latinas in the workforce dropped by 2.74%, meaning 336,000 fewer Latinas were in the labor force, according to a report released Wednesday by the UCLA Latino Police and Politics Initiative, a Latino-focused think tank. That's the biggest drop in size of any demographic group, which could have major ramifications in the economy's recovery amid labor shortages. Adriana Rodriguez, 36, a widowed mother of six from Chicago, lost factory jobs twice in the pandemic. In April 2020, her factory let all workers go due to the pandemic shutdown. She found work at another location, but lost that job in August due to a high number of COVID-19 cases in the workplace.