Blacks account for 12% of the U.S. population but 21% of COVID-19 deaths, the researchers noted. The study found that compared to whites, Blacks are nearly three times more likely to work in health care support jobs such as nursing assistants or orderlies. And they are nearly twice as likely to have transportation jobs such as bus drivers, movers and taxi drivers. Blacks are also more likely to have jobs deemed essential during the pandemic: … When they compared these job classifications with COVID-19 deaths in 26 states and Washington, D.C., the researchers found that all of these jobs put workers at higher risk of infection and death from COVID-19.