Disparate Disruptions: Intersectional COVID-19 Employment Effects by Age, Gender, Education, and Race/Ethnicity

Abstract

These are unprecedented times, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts public health, social interaction, and employment attachments. Evidence to date has been about broad shifts in unemployment rates as a percent of the labor force. We draw on monthly Current Population Survey data to examine subpopulation changes in employment states across the life course, from January through April 2020. COVID-19 downturns produced disparate life-course impacts. There are increases in unemployment and being out of the workforce at all ages, but especially among young adults, with young women most at risk. Intersectional analyses document conjoint life-course vulnerabilities by gender, educational attainment, and race/ethnicity. For example, Black men aged 20–29 with a college degree experienced a 12.4 percentage point increase in being not in the labor force for other reasons (NILF-other). Individuals with less than a college degree in their 50s and 60s were more likely to become unemployed, regardless of race. And more non-college-educated Asian men in their 60s and 70s reported being retired (6.6 and 8.9 percentage point increases, respectively). Repercussions from the pandemic may well challenge assumptions and possibilities for older adults’ working longer.

Work‐Related Psychosocial Risk Factors and Coping Resources during the COVID‐19 Crisis

“…With this special issue we want to provide some answers to the question: What do we know about the psychosocial risk factors during a pandemic, and how can evidence from the field of Applied Psychology be used to provide guidance for coping with these demands? So far, several efforts have been made, echoing research conducted prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic, to summarize evidence and practical implications in the field of work and organizational psychology (Moen, Pedtke, & Flood, 2020; Rigotti, De Cuyper, & Sekiguchi, 2020; Rudolph et al, 2020). However, we need to be cautious in simply transferring research evidence collected under different circumstances to the current pandemic situation.…”

Life in a pandemic: intersectional approach exploring experiences of LGBTQ during COVID-19

“…The mental health burden of being socially oppressed and mentally depressed is already high in LGBTQ+ (Salerno, Devadas et al, 2020b;Salerno, Williams et al, 2020). The psychological toll was further compounded by socio-economic constraints arising from COVID-19, lockout, inadequate access to mental health services and an unfavourable home setting (Fish et al, 2020;Moen et al, 2020;Pandya & Redcay, 2020).…”

“…Almost every participant expressed that they either lost their jobs or feared losing one (Moen et al, 2020;Pacheco et al, 2020). Economic activities and business worldwide came to a halt during the lockdown.…”

“…Measures like work from home engaged the people with heavy use of technologies for long hours, giving rise to psychological and emotional turmoil . Moreover, the fear of losing a job, devoid of human touch, deprivation of face to face informal interactions, and urge to socialising inside and outside the sexual minority community took a toll on people's multi-dimensional wellbeing (Banerjee & Nair, 2020;Dasgupta et al, 2020;Moen et al, 2020;Whittington et al, 2020).…”

The COVID-19 Family Stressor Scale: Validation and Measurement Invariance in Female and Male Caregivers

“…Inclusion of both male and female caregivers in research examining the adverse impact of social disruptions due to COVID-19 is essential given the apparent disproportionate impact of the pandemic on female caregivers (15). For instance, young women are at particular risk for moving out of the workforce during the pandemic, possibly due to the increase in childcare responsibilities (16). Furthermore, mothers have reported increased levels of psychological distress, anxiety, and depression compared to pre-pandemic levels (7,17).…”