Report: Workers of color earn far less than median for R.I.

PROVIDENCE – A report released Thursday reveals several ongoing challenges that face racial and ethnic minorities in Rhode Island’s workforce, which persist largely among the Latino, black and Southeast Asian communities.

The report, “The State of Working Rhode Island 2015: Workers of Color,” was done by the Economic Progress Institute, and it details issues existent among workers of color who fall behind in employment opportunities, earnings and educational attainment.

“This report pulls together data that have been highlighted by different communities and sources over the years to provide a full picture of how workers of color are faring in the Ocean State,” said Rachel Flum, executive director of EPI. “The significantly higher rates of unemployment for Latino and black Rhode Islanders, and lower wages for these communities and Southeast Asians should set off alarm bells for business leaders and policymakers.”

Indeed, since the economic downturn of 2008, black and Latino unemployment rates have been more than double the rates for white workers, according to the report. Latino unemployment ranked worst in the nation from 2008-2014 at 16.2 percent, which was more than double the national average of 7.4 percent.

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The report also shows a noticeable gap between the wages of Southeast Asians in Rhode Island compared with other Asian communities. The median wages among other Asian communities totaled $50,000, which is 63.3 percent more than the $30,621 median wage among Southeast Asians, according to the report.

“We need to do more to close persistent gaps in how workers of color experience the economy,” said Doug Hall, EPI director of economic and fiscal policy. “Because workers of color have lower rates of both high school and college completion, we need to strengthen supports to close those gaps. We also need to keep our safety net strong.”

While educational attainment in Rhode Island isn’t particularly strong across racial and ethnic groups, more than one-third of Latinos and a quarter of blacks in Rhode Island lack a high school diploma, according to the report. Meanwhile, Rhode Island Latino and black workers both largely work in health care and social assistance, arts and entertainment, and retail trade, which pay median wages “significantly below the overall median wage,” according to the report.

Concurrent with the release of the report, the EPI recommended four main policy points for Rhode Island lawmakers to consider:

  • Strengthen Rhode Island’s earned income tax credit, maintaining it as a refundable tax credit, and increasing the credit to at least 20 percent of the federal credit
  • Continue progress in increasing the minimum wage and the tipped minimum wage
  • End the waiting list for adult education services by increasing the state investment in the adult education system
  • Make quality child care affordable to more families through the Child Care Assistance Program by permanently increasing the “exit income limit” to 225 percent of the federal poverty level and increasing the “entry income limit” to 200 percent of FPL

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