The pandemic widened economic disparities stated Fed’s Bostic

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The coronavirus pandemic worsened pre-crisis economic inequities, resulting in larger job losses for women, Black employees, and individuals living in rural regions, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic stated on Wednesday. “The virus exploited existing weaknesses in our economy

just as it exploited preexisting conditions in individual human bodies,” Bostic said in remarks prepared for an event organized by the Chautauqua Institution.

Women had a bigger reduction in employment than men, owing in part to their disproportionate employment in the service industry, he said. Because of longstanding racial inequities in employment, black workers may experience a protracted recovery when the economy recovers from the crisis, he added.