Latinos in the United States

Latinos in the United States

Towards the latter portion of the twentieth century a gradual demographic transformation has taken place and by the year 2000 the U.S. population was composed of ethnically marked minorities, including African Americans Latinos, and Asian Americans. At the break of the twenty-first century, more than 35 million Latinos made up roughly 12.5 percent of the population. It is estimated that in two generations, the United States will have the second largest Latino population following Mexico. To put the development of the Latino population into perspective, “from the year 1990 to 2000 the Latino population grew by 58 percent (Marcelo, 2)” High rates of immigration and fertility have shaped the growth of the Latino population. Inevitably, due to the stratification of US society, their position in the education system and labor market is comparatively low. Estimates show that about 22 percent of the Latino population is below the poverty level, while 8.3 percent of non-Hispanic whites and about 25 percent of African American remain under the poverty level as well (US Census, 2005) Also, from the poverty-stricken Latino population 27 percent are children under the age of 18. Poverty is a growing disparity among the Latino population, in which education and employment negatively affect Latinos.

Education

In 2000, about 530,000 Latinos 16-19 years of age were high school dropouts, yielding a dropout rate of 21.1 percent for all Latinos (US Census Bureau, 2003). The Latino education experience presents a major disadvantage to Latino children. Often, Latino youth begin schooling without necessary economic and social resources that other children have. Initially, these disadvantages stem from immigrant parents with low socioeconomic statuses and language barriers that result in a lack of knowledge about the U.S. education system. Therefore, a culmination of unfavorable conditions follows students through the U.S. schooling system, such as inadequate school resources and weak parent-teacher relationships. According to the U.S Census Bureau, Hispanics are among the least educated ethnic group: 11 percent of Hispanics have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher compared with 17 percent of blacks, 30 percent of whites, and 49 percent of Asian Americans (Tienda, 180)”. It is a widely held notion among Americans that a college degree is essential to obtain a stable occupation. Due to the increasing average level of education, most Americans as a whole attain a high school diploma; while between 25 and 75 percent continue to postsecondary institutions (Firestone, 2008). Furthermore, immigrant parents and their children may not share high education aims, so most Latinos attend community college or trade schools, instead of four-year institutions.

Given the low rate of education among the Latino population and the growing need for a college degree for entry-level jobs, Latinos are behind when entering into the labor force. Figure 1 shows the average years of schools by gender, ethnicity, and nativity. As portrayed in figure 1 Hispanics have the lowest average years of schooling compared to whites and blacks. More specifically, the overall average for all Hispanics (10.5) does not include high school graduation. It is also notable to observe the education gap between foreign-born Hispanics, who have more difficulties with language barriers than US born Hispanics. Essentially, Latino’s low rate of high school and college graduation translates into lower incomes.

(Table 1)Average Years of Schooling, by Gender, Ethnicity, andNativityMen, by Nativity Women, by Nativity

Ethnicity All Foreign-Born US Born All Foreign-Born US BornWhites 13.6 13.6Black 12.4 12.8All Hispanics 10.5 9.5 12.2 10.8 9.8 12.4Mexicans 9.8 8.5 12.1 10.1 8.6 12.2Puerto Ricans 11.7 11.2 12.4 12.0 11.4 12.7Cubans 12.7 12.4 13.6 12.9 12.5 14.2

NOTE: The samples include individuals ages 25 to 59. SOURCE: 2000 Census, 5% Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS).Tienda, Marta(Editor). Hispanics and the Future of America.Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press, 2006. p 230. [http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uncch/Doc?id=10120238&ppg=242] Dead link|date=June 2008

Employment

Latinos make up a large part of the US population and their participation in the labor force is crucial to staying above the poverty line. Employment and earnings are a measure of labor market success, which depend on the educational attainment of Latinos. An analysis of the employment rates and the income gaps are important to better understand the economic status of Latinos.

Latino success in the labor market heavily depends on willingness to work and what type of jobs they are able to secure. Table 2 conveys the annual employment rates by gender, ethnicity and nativity. The annual employment rate is defined as the percentage of individuals who worked any period of time during the calendar year (Tienda, 235). Although Hispanics do not follow behind blacks when it comes to employment rates, they remain behind whites. There is a major gap between male and female rates in Hispanics due to high fertility rates and female absence from the labor force to give birth. Furthermore, nativity plays a major role in employment rates because US born Hispanics are more accustomed to the US labor market.

(Table2)Annual Employment Rates (Percentages), by Gender,Ethnicity and Nativity

Men, by Nativity Women, by Nativity

Ethnicity All Foreign-Born US Born All Foreign-Born US BornWhites 91.8 80.2Blacks 77.4 77.7Hispanics 86.8 87.5 85.6 67.0 61.2 76.3Mexicans 87.8 88.5 86.5 64.7 56.1 76.4Puerto Ricans 80.0 76.6 83.8 67.7 60.8 75.5Cubans 87.3 86.8 89.1 74.7 72.5 82.5NOTE: The samples include individuals ages 25 to 59. SOURCE: 2000 census, 5% PUMS.Tienda, Marta(Editor). "Hispanics and the Future of America.Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press, 2006. p 235. [http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uncch/Doc?id=10120238&ppg=247] Dead link|date=June 2008

(Figure1)

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex and Hispanic Origin: 2005

Earnings

Earnings prove to be the ultimate indicator of labor market success, in which abilities and attributes are reflected. As seen in figure 1, Latino males and females median earnings are significantly lower than the total median earnings of the population. The earning gap among Latinos, whites, and blacks is due mainly to the education attainment, as noted previously. In 2006, adults 18 and older with a master’s, professional, doctoral degree earned an average of $79,946, while those with less than a high school diploma earned about $19,915 (US Census Bureau, 2006). On a broader spectrum, a report released by the Census Bureau in 2003 estimated that the average lifetime earnings of Hispanics with an advanced degree are $500,000 less than whites with an equivalent education. Therefore, even when Latinos are academically equivalent to whites, the gap remains because it will take time to close it and there are other factors that affect it.

References

*Brindis CD, Driscoll AK, Biggs MA, Valderrama LT. 2002. Fact Sheet on Latino Youth: Income & Poverty.
*Firestone, Juanita M. and Richard J. Harris. "Educational and Occupational Attainment."
*Marcelo, M Suárez-Orozco and Mariela Páez. (2002) "Latino’s: Remaking America". University of California Press. ISBN 0520234863
*Tienda, Marta and Faith Mitchell (Editors). (2006) "Hispanics and the Future of America". Washington, DC: National Academies Press. ISBN 0309100518
*US Census Bureau. (2007). Earnings Gap by Census Bureau Data on Educational Attainment.
*US Census Bureau. (2006). US Hispanic Population:2006 Power Point.

Further reading

*cite book |last=Card |first=David & Ethan G. Lewis |editor=Borjas, George J. (Editor) |title=Mexican Immigration to the United States |edition= |year=2007 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago, IL |isbn=9780226066325 |pages= |chapter=The Diffusion of Mexican Immigrants during the 1990s: Explanations and Impacts |chapterurl=

*cite book |last=Masud-Piloto |first=Felix Roberto |editor= |title=From Welcomed Exiles to Illegal Immigrants: Cuban Migration to the U.S., 1959-1995 |year=1996 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, MD |isbn=0847681483 |pages= |chapter= |chapterurl=