Despite making up only a seventh of the entire U.S. population, Latinos took 60% of the 2.3 million jobs added in 2011.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey, the Latino labor force has grown by 2.4 million since January of 2008.
As previously reported on La Plaza, the Latino community is still struggling with an unemployment rate of 10.5%, and the number of employed Latinos has only grown by 1.2 million. Experts explain that the two seemingly conflicting statistics are affected by two major factors: the first is the types of jobs that were added in 2011, and the second is the large growth that the Latino population has experienced.
Almost half of all new jobs added in 2011 have been low-paid and went to less-educated individuals, a segment of the population that is still comprised of a lot of Latinos. Additionally, since unemployment is calculated as a ratio, that ratio has been heavily influenced by the now very large Latino population, keeping the unemployment rate high for Latinos despite their employment gains.
“During the Great Recession, employment losses occurred across the board, but were concentrated in midwage occupations,” notes a report by the National Employment Law Project. “But in the weak recovery to date, employment growth has been concentrated in lower-wage occupations, with minimal growth in midwage occupations and net losses in higher-wage occupations.”
Experts speculate that helping the Latino population reach pre-recession employment levels could be the fact that newer immigrants are more likely to move around and settle in sates with growing job opportunities, and seek out low-wage positions in growing sectors such as healthcare and hospitality.
[…] Are The First To Reach Pre-Recession Employment – Despite making up only a seventh of the entire U.S. population, Latinos took 60% of the 2.3 million jobs added in 2011. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics […]