Interesting snippet from WSJ on Hispanics - a push for more political power for Latinos can't be far behind:
"According to the Census, poverty rates in 2006 were statistically unchanged for whites, blacks and Asians but decreased to 20.6% from 21.8% among Latinos. The poverty rate among Hispanics is lower today than the poverty rate among blacks (24.3%). Per capita income also increased across the board, by 1.9%, but here, too, Hispanic gains stand out. The per capita income of whites, blacks and Asians, increased by 1.8%, 2.7%, and 8% respectively, while Hispanic incomes rose by 3.1%.
Given the rapid growth of the Hispanic population due to immigration and higher birth rates, this is a welcome trend. And it is a trend. Current Population Survey data compiled by Jeffrey Passel of the Pew Hispanic Center show that the Latino poverty rate, which was 22.5% in 2003, has fallen for three straight years. America's fastest-growing ethnic group has been steadily improving its economic lot, notwithstanding lower education levels on average and overrepresentation in low-skill occupations.
Last month, Pew released a study on the wages earned by foreign-born Latinos between 1995 and 2005. Latinos comprise the largest share of foreign-born workers and accounted for 13% of the overall labor force in 2005, up from 6% in 1980. According to Pew, between 1995 and 2005, "The proportion of foreign-born Latino workers in the lowest quintile of the wage distribution decreased to 36% from 42% while many workers moved into the middle quintiles."
The report's author, Rakesh Kochhar, cites higher levels of education and a move from jobs in agriculture to construction and other higher-paying occupations as major factors in Latino upward mobility.
"During this period," writes Mr. Kochhar, "many foreign-born Latinos stepped out of the low-wage workforce and headed toward the middle of the wage distribution." Some conservatives assert that the U.S. is importing impoverished immigrants from Mexico who are destined to remain that way. These fears are misplaced. The data show that over time Latinos can and do climb the economic ladder, much as previous immigrant groups have done." |
