The invisible impact of Covid-19

How the virus has affected the mental and financial health of different ethnic groups

ETHNIC minorities in the UK have been the hardesthit both financially and mentally by the Covid-19 pandemic. New data from the Office for National Statistics’ Understanding Society study show that most ethnicities saw a worsening of their mental health and living standards between 2019 and April 2020, at the start of the first national lockdown.

Indian people were particularly affected, with a 40 per cent increase in the number reporting losing sleep more than usual due to worry between those periods.

And households headed by Black African or “other” Black people (i.e. those not from an African or Caribbean background) were significantly less likely to have enough money to cover a drop in income due to unemployment just before the pandemic.

Just 64 per cent of this group had enough savings to cover 20 per cent of their wages for a three-month period, compared to 80 per cent of White British people.

These figures assume the normal furlough rate of 80 per cent of full wages and are adjusted to account for different ages.

Experts say this is not surprising, as general inequalities have led minorities to be less likely to be able to build wealth reserves to fall back on when times are hard.

In April this year, 27 per cent of Black, African, Caribbean or Black British people reported finding it “very or quite difficult” to get by financially.

This is just under four times the rate of White British people, as only seven per cent of this group reported the same.

Meanwhile, 14 per cent of Chinese or other Asian people reported difficulty, double the rate of White Brits, and 13 per cent of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis and 11 per cent of Indians said they struggled.

Maurice Mcleod, chief executive of the race equality charity Race on the Agenda, said: “It is not at all surprising that this data shows that people from marginalised groups are more vulnerable to the impacts of the Covid pandemic.

“It has been well reported for years that black and minority ethnic communities often find themselves in the most precarious jobs and generational inequality means they are less likely to have built up wealth reserves to fall back on when times are hard.

“These communities also often have the worst, most overcrowded housing and are more likely to do jobs which either put them at risk of contracting Covid or are more vulnerable to the economic impact of the virus.

“The Government is attracted to providing general support but targeted actions will be needed to address specific inequalities.”

Prior to Covid-19, the rate of working-age adults (aged 16 to 64) who were in paid work in January and February this year was lower for some ethnic groups.

While 80 per cent of White Brits had paid work, just 62 per cent of Chinese or other Asian did, as did 64 per cent of Pakistani or Bangladeshi and Black, African, Caribbean or Black British people.

The ONS states that these differences can be explained to some degree by differences in the number of women in each of these groups in paid work.

Less than half (46 per cent) of women aged 16 to 64 years from the Pakistani or Bangladeshi ethnic groups, and just over half of those of Chinese or other Asian (51 per cent) and Black, African, Caribbean or Black British (55 per cent) ethnicities reported being in paid work immediately before the pandemic.

This is significantly less than working-age women from the White British (76 per cent) and Other White (82 per cent) groups.