In many ways, Asian Americans in the US have had meaningful economic and social impact but they face a number of challenges that have often been overlooked.

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COVID-19 and
Advancing Asian
American recovery

2. McKinsey & Company 2
In many ways, Asian Americans
in the US have had meaningful
economic and social impact…
~2 million Asian American-
owned small businesses
generate $700 billion in
annual GDP and employ
~3.5 million people
They are a powerful
economic force
38% of immigrants are
projected to be Asian by
2065
They are projected to
become the largest
immigrant group
in the US by 2055
Asian Americans have
the highest within-group
income inequality in the
US
They experience some
of the widest variances
in corporate success,
educational attainment,
and income
One-third of Americans
have reported witnessing
other individuals blame
Asian Americans for the
COVID-19 outbreak
And have experienced
longstanding—but often
unacknowledged—
xenophobia
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics; US Census Bureau; AAPI Emergency Response Network McKinsey & Company 2
…but they face a number of
challenges that have often been
overlooked

3. McKinsey & Company 3McKinsey & Company 3
A high proportion of Asian Americans have been
working in high-contact essential roles
Representation of Asian Americans in high-contact essential roles, %
20.4
9.8
9.8
7.7
6.9
6.4
6.0Food preparation servers and supervisors
Physicians and surgeons1
Therapists
Physician assistants
Registered nurses
Healthcare technologists and technicians1
Cooks
5.9
Percentage of Asian Americans
in the United States
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics; McKinsey Global Institute LaborCube
1 Consists of only high contact essential roles as defined by McKinsey Global Institute, representing ~50 to 75% of total roles within the category.

4. McKinsey & Company 4
The Asian American business community will be critical
to economic recovery and employment growth
25.5
16.5
12.8
12.5
10.9
Food and accommodation services
5.9
Percentage of Asian Americans
in the United States
Educational services
Retail trade
Healthcare and social assistance
Wholesale trade
Their recovery will be critical
to the economic and
employment recovery
25%
of Asian-owned businesses
employ more than 1 person,
compared with 13% of all US
businesses
Sectors that have been hard hit by COVID-19Asian-owned business account for a high proportion of the following
sectors, many of which have been hard hit by COVID-19, %
Source: US Small Business Administration Pulse Survey; 2017 Annual Business Survey

5. McKinsey & Company 5
During the COVID-19 crisis, Asian Americans have experienced a
double hit of discrimination and economic downturn
Increase in mental health
support texts from Asian
Americans, according to Crisis
Text Line in first quarter of 2020
39% 4.5x
Increase in Asian American
unemployment since February—
the highest increase among all
groups
One day a customer walked in and asked one of our
non-Asian employees if he had COVID-19. When asked why, the
customer pointed at one of our Asian employees and said,
‘Because you work with him.’ It stings.
-Mary Wong and Tony Nguyen
owners of OMG Tacos restaurant in Dallas, Texas
75%
Asian American-owned small
businesses likely had no access
to PPP funds due to lack of
existing banking relationships
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics; Forbes.com

6. McKinsey & Company 6
What public, private,
and social sector
leaders can do
Addressing these issues will take a concerted and sustained effort by stakeholders in the public, private,
and social sectors, as well as by individuals
Understand the data
Organizations should gather data
that disaggregates Asian subgroups
to extract insights
Combat bias and xenophobia
Organizations and individuals
should take concrete steps
to counter implicit bias, micro
aggressions, and overt xenophobia
Serve Asian American communities
Organizations can tailor their products
and services to Asian American
businesses and consumers,
for example by offering
language assistance
1 2 3

7. Read the full report at
McKinsey.com
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-
insights/covid-19-and-advancing-asian-american-recovery
COVID-19 and advancing Asian American recovery