With less savings to fall back on during the COVID-19 pandemic, Black households went deeper into debt and were more likely to fall behind on their mortgages than their white peers, according to a new analysis given exclusively to USA TODAY.
Black workers also disproportionately have jobs that do not provide 401 or other employer-supported retirement plans, creating another hole in their financial safety nets. And they are more likely to live in communities that lack a supermarket and other amenities, which raises the day-to-day cost of living. With the typical white family having eight times the wealth of the typical Black family, African Americans are also more likely to have to borrow to pay for a higher education.
Holding on to a home also became more difficult. Between last August and March of this year, 17.6% of Black homeowners fell behind in their mortgage payments compared with 6.9% of white homeowners. Across racial lines, once you turn to relatives and friends for help, circumstances are often dire, Weller says.
Raising the minimum wage and giving people more opportunities to join a union are a start."Those tend to be good pathways toward building wealth, especially for African Americans and other communities of color,'' he says.
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