The coronavirus pandemic ravaged the U.S. labor market just as it was starting to benefit disadvantaged communities, and if the job losses last, some workers could face a long climb back to where they were financially, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday.
Just two months ago, the U.S. economy was in its 11th year of an expansion that seemed poised to continue, Powell said during a news conference after the Fed said it would keep interest rates near zero until the economy recovers.
More than 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the last five weeks after losing jobs as a result of the devastating economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. Black and Hispanic workers are being hit particularly hard, Powell said, because the unemployment rate tends to rise faster for minorities and low-income workers than it does for other groups.
Hispanic workers are taking the biggest hit, with 61% saying they or someone in their household lost a job or experienced a pay cut because of the pandemic, according to an April survey by the Pew Research Center. That compared with 44% of black workers and 38% of white workers. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks to reporters after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates in an emergency move designed to shield the world's largest economy from the impact of the coronavirus, in Washington, U.S., March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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