Lockdowns are ‘sacrifices’ largely being made by low income workers and small businesses

According to data recently released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), Minnesota lost almost 50,000 jobs in December. These job losses mostly occurred in the hospitality sector, which faced stricter COVID-19 restrictions all through the month. Minnesota’s unemployment was, unfortunately, due to people leaving the workforce.

Unfortunately, this has been a recurring trend.

Often, we have seen health practitioners as well as other state leaders calling for lockdowns as soon as COVID-19 cases rise. Result? Numerous people — mainly low-income workers —  lose jobs as businesses shut down.

According to a survey recently released by Morning Consult, for example, generally, people making over $100, 000 and living in urban areas have seen many aspects of their lives improve rather than worsen. These aspects included finances, mental health, among others. On the other hand, rural, suburban, and low-income individuals saw a worsening situation in about all of their surveyed areas of life.

Divided by gender, women, unlike men, faced a worsening condition in all areas of their lives. This should not be surprising, as women have been disproportionately affected by shutdowns, potentially due to two main reasons: (1) women are concentrated in the service sector which was bombarded by shutdowns (2) women were significantly affected by the closure of childcare centers as well as school and had to leave the workforce or take on more caregiving duties in addition to work, potentially affecting their lives.

Not everyone is making sacrifices

Describing the recent decline in Minnesota’s labor force participation rate, DEED commissioner Steve Grove likened shutdowns to a sacrifice that businesses and individuals have had to make due to rising coronavirus cases. In the words of most of our leaders, ‘we are all in this together’ and ‘we all have to make a sacrifice’. Speaking after the December restrictions, for instance, Governor Walz praised Minnesotans for making a sacrifice,

Minnesotans’ sacrifice and commitment to their communities helped change the pandemic’s trajectory and saved lives. Yesterday we cautiously adjusted the dials to help Minnesotans return to important elements of their daily lives, and we continue to monitor where we stand.

Looking at the data, however, this can not be further from the truth.

We are not all in this together, at least, in the way that matters. We are not all making the sacrifices, especially not our politicians. Instead, it is our most disadvantaged workers who are continuously bearing the brunt of this human-created recession in the promise of nonexistent benefits.