VOA新闻杂志2024--Wealth Inequality by Race Grew during Pandemic

Wealth Inequality by Race Grew during Pandemic

A new government report says wealth inequality by race increased in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank carried out the study and released the report. It said strong performance in financial markets and large gains in the stock market in 2021 were partly to blame for the increase.

The report found that the net worth of whites individually outgrew¹ that of Blacks individually by 30 percentage points. Whites outgrew Hispanics by nine percentage points. The findings cover the years 2019 through half of 2023.

The period saw a high level of government financial support and a surprisingly strong job market. The unemployment rate for Black Americans is now at 5.3 percent, near a record low. The overall unemployment rate is 3.7 percent. Earnings² for a Black full-time³ worker are up 7 percent on average since before the pandemic.

Closing the racial wealth divide, or gap, is especially difficult because a much larger number of white households have money in stocks and mutual⁴ funds. A separate Federal Reserve study showed that as of 2022, about 66 percent of white households had investments in stocks. In comparison, 39 percent of Black households owned stock. Stock investment was found to be even lower among Hispanic households, at 28 percent.

Government support, including additional unemployment assistance and COVID-linked payments to Americans, helped prevent a recession, the report says. But financial asset prices rose so quickly with the reopening of the economy through 2021 that racial wealth inequalities increased. Those asset prices fell, or declined, in 2022, after the Federal Reserve increased interest rates. But "those declines did not fully⁵ offset⁶ the earlier rises," the report's writers said.

The report noted⁷ that Black households have more wealth contained in pensions than in stocks, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, or ETFs.

More than 50 percent of Black financial wealth is invested in pensions, the New York Fed found. Less than 20 percent of Black wealth is contained in private businesses, corporate⁸ equities⁹, and mutual funds. In contrast, less than 30 percent of white financial wealth is invested in pensions. About 50 percent is invested in businesses, equities, and mutual funds.

"Black workers are still more likely to be unionized, which may play a part in the pension story," said Janelle Jones, Vice¹⁰ President of Policy and Advocacy at the Washington Center for Equitable¹¹ Growth.

"Whether folks are exposed to the ability to invest in the stock market — whether or not it's something they grow up doing — we know that's different for white families than for people of color," Jones said.

Blacks are also less likely than whites to receive money and property from family members who die, she said

Owning a business is another part of financial wealth. Separate data show Black-owned businesses suffered more during the pandemic.

Less than 10 percent of all U.S. business owners are Black. And many Black-owned businesses are in industries that were hit hardest when COVID first spread, reported research group Economic Policy Institute after examining U.S. government data.

Hotel, food service, retail¹², health care, and social assistance industries suffered the greatest number of pandemic-linked job losses. About 28 percent of Black-owned businesses are found in those industries, compared with just under 20 percent of white-owned businesses, says the U.S. Bureau of Labor¹³ Statistics.

The U.S. Treasury¹⁴ reported Wednesday that economic conditions are improving for Black households. Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo noted rising employment numbers and wages for Black Americans since before the pandemic. He also praised an increase in Black business ownership and action in the stock market.

But, Adeyemo suggested that some policy measures still might be needed to balance financial wealth in the U.S.

"The gap between Black and white wealth in America is still too great," he said.

Words in This Story

gap — n. a space between two people or things

mutual fund — n. a type of investment in which the money of many people is used to buy stock from many different companies

asset — n. something that is owned by a person, company, etc.

pension — n. an amount of money that a company or the government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works

equity¹⁵ — n. fairness or justice in the way people are treated

inheritance — n. money, property, etc., that is received from someone when that person dies

retail — n. the business of selling things directly to customers for their own use

1 outgrew   

长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去式 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过

参考例句：

• She outgrew the company she worked for and found a better job somewhere else. 她进步很快，不再满足于她所在工作的公司，于是又在别处找到一份更好的工作。
• It'soon outgrew Carthage and became the largest city of the western world. 它很快取代了迦太基成为西方的第一大城市。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

4 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 equities   

普通股，股票

参考例句：

• These are invested mainly in the OECD bonds and equities. 这些资产主要投资于经济合作及发展组织的债券与股票市场。
• They are also advantage of the global rebound in equities. 它们还在利用全球股市反弹的机会。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

12 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

15 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。