According to a recent survey by WayUp that measured how job seekers felt in the current COVID-19 job climate, Black and Hispanic/Latino job seekers were 145% more likely to be concerned about being capable of doing a job remotely compared to White job seekers. Lack of physical space, access to broadband, and having more people in the household are contributing factors.
See also:
- Blacks and Hispanics have less access to broadband internet compared to Whites
- Inequality of remote work
Links to this note
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The Radius of Economic Opportunity Is Limited
The economic benefit of increased wages is highly localized. 8 in 10 people live within 100 miles of where they grew up and disadvantaged groups are less likely to move for higher wages. In total, 99% of the residents of a given area (i.e. commuter zone) would live there even if there wasn’t strong wage growth.
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Black and Hispanic People Have Less Access to Broadband Internet Than White People
A 2019 Pew Research survey found that Black and Hispanic people have less access to broadband internet than White people (66% 61% vs 79% respectively). This digital divide is becoming more pronounced due to trends in remote work.
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Remote Work Resulted in a 30% Increase in Hours Worked and 20% Decrease in Productivity
A study of 10,000 workers at an Asian IT company found that when comparing before the pandamic and during (the work from home period), the number of hours worked increased by 30% (including 18% increase outside of normal working hours, but the average output remained the same. This led the researchers to conclude that the overall productivity of remote work declined by 20%.