New job opportunities emerge for latinas post-pandemic

The economic devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on Latinas, who had nearly doubled their contributions to the workforce over the past two decades.

This progress was halted by the pandemic, but the anticipated reopening of the economy could make this a good time to get ready for that new career or job. According to the Economic Policy

Institute, Latinas accounted for 20.2 percent of the more than 20 million people listed as unemployed in April 2020. This is largely because Hispanic women tend to work in the industries

hardest hit by COVID-19 lockdowns: hospitality and leisure (hotels, restaurants, entertainment and tourism), the service sector (cleaning services, food, health care and security), commerce

and education, among others. Despite a gradual, mild recovery over the ensuing months, Latinas still made up 9.2 percent of the unemployed in January. The distribution and supply of COVID-19

vaccines will be essential to restarting the economy and recovering lost jobs, according to Leo Feler, senior economist at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California,

Los Angeles. "The coming months are projected to be very difficult until we vaccinate a large number of people. After that, we will grow quickly ... due to pent-up demand,” Feler says.

A CHANGING JOB OUTLOOK "The sector where we'll see the fastest growth is leisure and hospitality,” Feler says. “Number two is education, because with students now doing school via

Zoom, there will be much more growth in that area when they can go back [to the classroom]. And number three is commerce, which will also recover much faster than the rest of the

economy." Analysts agree that the pandemic will alter the job outlook in more permanent ways. A report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says telework and other factors will

accelerate the adoption of work-related technology and automation. This means that additional training may be needed to land jobs in certain fields or, in some cases, to change to a new

field or occupation. This could be a challenge for some Latinas 50 or older. But by preparing for and adapting to what the market needs, they can be ready for new opportunities. "Well,

it might be a good time to try some upskilling and reskilling,” suggests Susan Weinstock, AARP's vice president for financial resilience programming. “Community colleges are a great

resource for that sort of thing. You can take a course or even take a number of courses and get a certificate. It will demonstrate to an employer that you're always interested in

learning more, that you're a lifelong learner, that you're taking on new skills and you're interested in continuing to improve yourself and make you relevant to the job market

that we're going to have post-COVID.”