COVID-19 is still affecting NYC … who is suffering more?

It is known throughout the world that New York City, perhaps the capital of the world, has suffered greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One group in particular, though, has taken the biggest toll even today when it comes to employment and eviction risks. Hispanics/Latinos have consistently been a group with a higher unemployment and eviction risk rate compared to White, Black, and Asian American/PacificIslander (AAPI) populations.

Considering many evictions occur because the tenant could not afford to pay rent for an extended period of time, employment of a tenant has to come in question first to see if there even is a source of income.

Since the third quarter of last year (July 2021-September 2021), 10.7 percent of Hispanics/Latinos were unemployed. As an assumed effect, Hispanics and Latinos were among the highest in New York City to face the risk of eviction.

In the last 6 months, over 1,400 Hispanics/Latinos faced eviction compared to 556 white individuals, 887 black individuals and 905 who identify as other. The highest risk numbers were in March, where 3,259 Hispanics/Latinos faced eviction whereas 1,409 white individuals, 2,066 black individuals and 2,250 others faced eviction.

It is honestly a question why this group of the population faces such economic hardships, but it is still a testament to how systemic racism affects minority groups in the United States.

This data was only gathered from New York City, leaving one to wonder whether the same situation is happening to other cities. One can only hope that this disprotionied reality will resolve itself shortly and that it will never return, but perhaps it will be at an equal level as other groups facing the issue.