Black LGBT People Most Impacted Economically By COVID-19, Study Finds

According to a study released Thursday, Black LGBT people are disproportionately affected by the adverse economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Working with PSB Insights, the Human Rights Foundation released a report titled “The Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Black LGBTQ People.”

Researchers found that 31 percent of Black LGBT people had their work hours reduced due to the pandemic, nine percent higher than the general population. Black LGBT people also were more likely to become unemployed by the pandemic. Eighteen percent of Black LGBT people have lost their job due to COVID-19, six percent higher than the general population.

Black LGBT people were also negatively affected at higher rates than non-Black LGBT people.

“Even as Black communities, especially Black trans communities, across the country are reckoning with racism and violence, Black LGBTQ people are also being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “We know Black people are dying from COVID-19 at extremely alarming rates. Unfortunately, this new research shows Black people and Black LGBTQ people are suffering disproportionate economic inequities. The data make clear what we have long known: that those living at the intersections of multiply marginalized identities face harsher consequences of the pandemic. It is a clarion call to policymakers that we must do all we can to combat the virus and its economic impact on multiple marginalized communities.”

The loss of employment has led Black LGBT people to ask for delays in paying their rent (23% versus 7% in the general population) and bills (21% versus 12%).