A new report says many people of color are missing out on Connecticut’s statewide recovery from the Great Recession.
The advocacy group Connecticut Voices for Children released the report today. It said that six years after the recession, the unemployment rate for black residents is more than double the rate for white residents — 13 percent compared with 5 percent.
Nick DiFiesta put together the report. He said workers of color who do have a job earn nearly $8 per hour less than white workers.
“If you are a person of color in Connecticut, you face an economy that is dramatically different than white workers in Connecticut," he said. "They’re finding it harder to put food on the table. They’re finding it harder to make ends meet, to pay rent.”
The report says one in three black and Hispanic children in the state live in poverty.
DiFiesta said unemployment and wages are worse in the cities, where more people of color live. For example, unemployment in Hartford is 12 percent. That’s more than twice the statewide unemployment rate of about 5 percent.
Voices for Children said it is urging state lawmakers to lower taxes on working families and improve schools in minority communities.
