Thanks to the historic stock market rebound from pandemic lows, affluent 401(k)-holders and savvy investors in the U.S. enjoyed double-digit returns from stocks over the past two years. However, this was not the case for most Black Americans.

Only 34% of Black American households owned equity investments, compared to 61% of white families, according to Federal Reserve Board’s most recent survey in 2019. According to data, Black Americans held only $14,400 in stocks, which is nearly half of the value that their white counterparts had.

“Because Black households are less likely to be invested in the stock market and on every level less likely to be engaged in the financial system, they not only entered the pandemic with large gaps, the likelihood is that we are going to see some of these gaps widen coming out of the pandemic,” said John Lettieri, the Economic Innovation Group’s president and CEO.

Americans are primarily able to build their wealth through retirement plans. However, there has been a significant gap between Black Americans and white Americans in this regard. Black Americans have missed out on substantial gains in the stock markets because many hold jobs that don’t offer a retirement plan sponsored by their employers.

The Federal Reserve reports that only 44% have retirement savings accounts. This compares to 66% of white Americans who average $50,000. 

Lettieri stated, “If you can access a wealth management program, the past two years have been a boom for your bottom-line wealth.”

The stock market pulled off a stunning recovery rally from the pandemic lows in March 2020, with the S&P 500 enjoying the fastest bull market since World War II, doubling off the bottom. The market rose out of the massive pandemic slump thanks to unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus.

Federal Reserve reduced interest rates to close to zero while supporting financial markets through $120 million in monthly emergency bond purchases. The rescue action came as the S&P 500 suffered its fastest 30% drop in history. The government spent trillions in Covid relief, sending out direct payments to the poor and providing unemployment insurance for many of the most vulnerable Americans.

These federal programs were able to provide much-needed temporary relief but they did not address the issues of racial diversity in the job market. Black Americans suffered the brunt of the first job loss from the pandemic. The labor-force recovery was particularly uneven.

Tatjana Meschede is associate director of Brandeis University’s Institute on Assets and Social Policy. She stated that the kind of jobs which disappeared immediately after the pandemic struck impacted communities with color more than those of white.

The latest jobs report showed that for all Black workers, the unemployment rate in December stood at 7.1% — more than twice that of white workers at 3.2%. In history, the ratio between Black and white unemployment was approximately two to one.

Black Americans also have less risky assets like bonds, but they have lower returns over the last two years. A Credit Suisse studyIt was found that Black wealth holders are even more likely than whites to have conservative investments such as bonds, real estate and life insurance.

— CNBC’s Nate RattnerThis story was contributed by you.