Reflections on Our Community

Reflections on Our Community is a new ¿Qué Pasa, OSU? series in which the authors, Mercedes Sánchez and Sunny Munn, draw on social, historical, political and cultural research pertaining to Hispanics*, to reflect on key issues affecting the Latin@ community in the United States. Consisting of four quarterly articles, the Reflections on Our Community series aims to highlight the importance of Hispanics to the economy, politics and society in the United States by stressing the need to develop the existing potential of the Latin@ community.

As the most rapidly growing ethnic group in the United States, there is no doubt the Latin@ population is a growing economic, political and social force. In the most recent report published by the U.S. Census Bureau (2007), Hispanics accounted for 45.5 million or 15.1 percent of the U.S. population. In 2007, Hispanics were the nation’s largest minority group, followed by 40.7 million African Americans or 13.5 percent of the U.S. population. Out of the estimated 45.5 million Hispanics in the United States, 26.5 million or 58.3 percent are U.S. natives, and approximately 19 million are documented Hispanic immigrants (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). There is not an official figure of the estimated number of undocumented Hispanic immigrants in the United States. Therefore, the economic integration of Hispanic immigrants has become an urgent and critical issue in this country. The benefits of a more integrated Hispanic population include strengthened social capital, greater opportunities for upward mobility, and increased income and purchasing power which are injected back into the U.S. economy (AS/CO, 2008).

This first article in the Reflections on Our Community series provides an overview of the accomplishments of Hispanics in the United States. Accomplishments related to education, economic contributions, and political participation are briefly discussed. Future articles will include a more in-depth discussion of issues related to education and language acquisition; entrepreneurship, labor mobility and market outcomes; political participation; and immigration.

Education and Language Achievements

Although Hispanic immigrants tend to have the lowest levels of education and the highest rates of high-school dropout, education trends are changing in the second and third generations of immigrant families. From 1994 to 2005, the high school graduate rate for Hispanics increased from 56 percent to almost 66 percent. It is estimated that 25 percent of Hispanic high school graduates enrolled in college in 2005, compared to 19 percent in 1994. This positive trend can also be observed in the rate of English language acquisition (2007 Economic Report of the President).

Fluency in speaking English also increases across generations. This likely occurs because English is spoken more often at work, and for second and third generations English has become a more predominant language in the home. The proportion of Hispanic adults who speak only Spanish at home drops to 11 percent among the second generation and 6 percent among the third and higher generations. Twenty-three percent of first–generation Hispanic immigrants can speak English fluently, in contrast with 88 percent of first generation and 94 percent of later generations who can read and write English fluently (Pew Hispanic Center, 2007). This increase in English reading and speaking proficiency is consistent with the patterns of language assimilation of past waves of European and Asian immigrants (AS/CO, 2008).

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Economic Contributions

Improvements in educational attainment have a positive impact on the economic progress of Hispanics. With rising levels of education, Hispanics have increased their access to more stable jobs and higher wages, leading to decreased poverty rates in the Hispanic community. Eighty percent of Hispanic males are in the labor force, which is the largest participation rate of any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. Hispanic-owned businesses were also one of the fastest growing segments in the U.S. economy in 2008. The nearly 2.2 million Hispanic-owned businesses generated an estimated $388.7 billion in revenues. In 2010, there are expected to be 3.2 million Hispanic firms generating a total of $465 billion (U.S. Small Business Administration Data, 2008).

In addition to workforce participation, Hispanics are making significant contributions to the economy through their consumer behaviors. Hispanic buying power is expected to grow faster than any other minority group. By 2011, it is estimated to increase by 458 percent, compared to Asians (434 percent), Native Americans (270 percent) and African Americans (237 percent). This is explained both by the demographic growth of the Hispanic population (through immigration and high fertility rates) and by their gradual access to better employment opportunities (Grossman, 2007).

Political Presence

Apart from a growing population, higher levels of education and increased economic contributions, Hispanic political power has also been on the rise. Latin@s are a growing electorate in the United States, giving them political influence in the nation. A Pew Hispanic Center (PHC) analysis reported that 9 percent of the 2008 electorate was Latin@, as indicated by the national exit poll. This is one percentage point higher than the share in the 2004 national exit poll. Hispanics possess over 10 million votes and represent the critical swing vote in six states. Nationwide, the Latin@ vote was significantly more Democratic in the 2008 Presidential election than in 2004. Obama captured 67 percent of the Latin@ vote (PHC, 2008), whereas Bush only received 40 percent of the Latin@ vote in 2004.

According to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), Latin@ candidates continue to reach new milestones as elected officials across the country. In state senates, Latin@s are demonstrating significant political progress in communities with emerging Latin@ populations. In 2008 all Latin@ incumbents won their re-election campaigns — totaling 24 Latinos in the U.S. House of Representatives. There were no Latin@ U.S. senators up for re-election in 2008; however in state senates, Latin@s gained 5 seats, increasing the total from 61 to 66 nationwide (NALEO, 2009).

Conclusion

With the increasing Hispanic population, Latin@s have encountered a myriad of socio-economic obstacles, such as anti-immigrant sentiment, the threat of English-only legislation, and the lack of adequate health care, education and housing (Kapur, 2001). Nevertheless, Latin@s continue to make significant advancements in education, occupational attainment, and politics, making them important contributors to the U.S. culture and economy. Their growing presence has had, and will continue to have, profound socio-political and economic consequences for the future of the United States. 

References

AS/CO (2008). U.S. Business and Hispanic Integration: Expanding the Economic Contributions of Immigrants. Americas Society/ Council of the Americas (AS/CO).

U.S. Small Business Administration (2008)

Department of Commerce (2007). U.S. Bureau of the Census.

2007 Economic Report of the President

2008 General election profile: Latinos in Congress and State legislatures after election 2008:
A state-by-state summary. National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO)

Grossman, L.P. (2007). Increasing wealth in the Latino community: A TRPI Conference Summary Report. Tomas Rivera Policy Institute

Lopez, M. H. (2008). How Hispanics Voted in the 2008 Election. Pew Hispanic Center

Kapur, A. (2001). Encouraging the Latino vote. The Carnegie Reporter.