‘Overlooked’: Asian American Jobless Rate Surges But Few Take Notice

The coronavirus pandemic is taking a heavy economic toll on Asian Americans. From Vietnamese nail salons to Cambodian doughnut shops, Asian-owned businesses have struggled. But their job losses aren’t attracting much notice. 

A year ago, the jobless rate for Asian Americans was 2.8% — lower than that of whites, Blacks or Latinos. But Asian American unemployment soared to 15% in May, and it was still 10.7% in August — well above the rate of 7.3% for whites and the Latino rate of 10.5%. Only African Americans had a higher jobless rate of 13%.