Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Latino Unemployment Rates Drop to Record Lows

The unemployment rate among Latino and Hispanic Americans fell to 4.7 percent this November, the lowest level on records since 1973. The improving labor market prospects for Latinos mirror the recent trends for U.S. workers overall.

Two groups in particular, Latina women and U.S.-born Latinos have seen their standing in the labor market improve more than Latino men and foreign-born Latinos, in part because they are more likely to work in industries that have added the most jobs since the Great Recession, namely social assistance, education, health care and accommodation and food services.

In 2006, 37.6% of Latina women were employed in these four industries, compared with only 14.6% of Latino men. Conversely, Latino men and foreign-born Latinos were more likely to work in the three industries that have shed jobs since 2006 – information, construction and manufacturing.

Last week, Ivanka Trump, daughter of the president, tweeted about the drop saying, “The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped to 4.7% – the LOWEST in the history of the United States. This Administration and @realDonaldTrump are working hard to create opportunities for all Americans…and we are just getting started!”

Her Statement attributed the drop to her father’s administration and alluding to its cause being the Administration’s increase in deportation raids, but the data does not support her statement. The improvements extend to U.S.-born and foreign-born Hispanics alike.

Pew Research Center

The Washington Post