The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics collects and publishes statistics on employment, earnings, consumer spending, time use, and workplace injuries by race and ethnicity. This Spotlight on Statistics explores trends in those data for the Hispanic or Latino U.S. population.
One out of every 6 people identify as Hispanic or Latino In 2016, over 40 million people in the United States identified as Hispanic or Latino, representing 16 percent of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and older. Although the Hispanic population has grown over time, White non-Hispanics continue to be the largest race and ethnic group in the United States.
More than three-fifths of Hispanics or Latinos were Mexican. More than three-fifths of Hispanics identified as Mexican in 2016. The next largest group, Puerto Ricans, represented nine percent, followed by South Americans and Central Americans (excluding Salvadorans), at seven and six percent, respectively.
The Hispanic civilian population has grown significantly in recent years—increasing from 27.6 million in 2003 to 40.7 million in 2016. Detailed Hispanic groups have grown at about the same rate since 2003, when data on detailed Hispanic ethnicity were first collected.
Percentage of Hispanics or Latinos in U.S. labor force has grown since 1973. The share of the nation’s labor force that is Hispanic grew steadily from 1973 to 2016, increasing from 4 percent to 17 percent during that period. The total labor force has increased by 16.6 million during the 2000–2016 period with Hispanics or Latinos accounting for nearly two-thirds of the increase (10.1 million).
Over the 1973–2016 period, the total civilian labor force increased by 69.8 million; one-third (about 23.1 million) of the increase occurred among Hispanics. According to BLS employment projections, the Hispanic labor force is expected to represent nearly one- fifth of the labor force by 2024, with a sizable share of the projected increase resulting from immigration. Foreign-born Hispanics are largely in younger age groups
Hispanics or Latinos in the labor force were more likely to be younger than non-Hispanics
In 2016, 70.0 percent of Hispanics or Latinos in the U.S. labor force were ages 25 to 54, while 63.1 percent of non-Hispanics were in that age group. Even within that age range, Hispanics are more likely to be younger, whereas non-Hispanics are about evenly distributed among the 25 to 34, 35 to 44, and 45 to 54 age groups.
The share of the Hispanic labor force that was age 55 and older was around half that of non-Hispanics, 13.0 percent versus 24.4 percent. Therefore, the impact of aging baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964, who currently are ages 53 to 71—on the Hispanic labor force is less.
Hispanic or Latino men were more likely to be in the labor force Overall, the share of Hispanics who participated in the labor force, 65.8 percent in 2016, was higher than that for non-Hispanics (62.2 percent).
Historically, Hispanic men were more likely to participate in the labor force than were non-Hispanic men. Hispanic men ages 25 to 54 had higher labor force participation rates than non-Hispanic men (90.7 versus 88.0 percent). Non-Hispanic men had higher levels of labor force participation in the teenage years (36.2 versus 32.3 percent).
The labor force participation rates were about the same for Hispanic and non-Hispanic men age 65 and older (24.0 versus 23.8 percent).
The proportion of Hispanic women who participated in the labor force—55.8 percent in 2016—was about 20 percentage points below that of Hispanic men. This difference was nearly double the disparity (10.8 percentage points) between the rates for non-Hispanic women and men. Hispanic women, regardless of age group, have lower labor force participation rates than non-Hispanic women.
The difference in labor force participation rates between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women ages 25 to 54 was much more pronounced (9.3 percentage points).
Hispanics about half as likely as non-Hispanics to work in management-related occupations
Employed Hispanics or Latinos were less likely to work in management, professional, and related occupations than were non-Hispanics; about 22 percent of Hispanics were employed in these occupations, compared with 43 percent of non-Hispanics in 2016. Hispanics and non-Hispanics were about equally likely to work in sales and office occupations.
Hispanics were more likely to work in service occupations (25 percent versus 16 percent). Within service occupations, Hispanics were more likely to work in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations than non-Hispanics. Similarly, within natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations, Hispanics were more likely to work in construction and extraction occupations than non-Hispanics.
About one-fourth of Hispanics in the labor force have less than a high school diploma
About 30 percent of Hispanics or Latinos in the labor force were high school graduates with no college experience in 2016—the same proportion as in 1992. In contrast, Hispanics with less than a high school diploma represented 26 percent of the labor force in 2016, significantly less than the 39 percent they represented in 1992. Twenty percent of Hispanics or Latinos in the labor force had a bachelor’s degree or more education in 2016, nearly double their share in 1992.
Even though the percentage of Hispanics with less than a high school diploma has decreased steadily, especially during the last decade, it is still substantially higher than the percentage of non-Hispanics (4 percent in 2016). Non-Hispanics were more likely to have a bachelor’s degree or higher (43 percent in 2016).
Compared with Hispanics, non-Hispanics’ labor force participation by educational attainment varies much more. In 2016, non-Hispanics with less than a high school diploma had a labor force participation rate of 36.0 percent, compared with 73.6 percent for those with a bachelor’s degree and higher. Hispanics with less than a high school diploma participated in the labor force at a rate of 59.0 percent, compared with 79.8 percent for those with a bachelor’s degree and higher.
Although employed Hispanics were more likely than non-Hispanics to work in agriculture and related industries, only 2.4 percent of employed Hispanics worked in agriculture. For all race and ethnic groups, most workers were private nonagricultural wage and salary workers in 2016.
The percentage of Hispanic workers, at 81.8 percent, fell about halfway between Whites and Asians. Almost 10 percent of Hispanics worked in government, significantly less than the 17.2 percent of Black workers. Hispanic were about equally as likely as White workers to be self-employed.
Foreign-born Hispanic workers earn around half as much as foreign-born Asian workers
The number of native-born Hispanic full-time workers is about equal to the number of foreign-born. Native-born Hispanics, however, earned more than foreign-born Hispanics ($697 versus $582) in 2016. This earnings premium for native-born workers is not seen in non-Hispanic groups, regardless of race. Among non-Hispanics, the largest difference in weekly earnings between native- and foreign-born workers is experienced by Whites; native-born White workers earned almost $100 less than their foreign-born counterparts.
The earnings of native- and foreign-born Black workers are not appreciably different. Foreign-born Asian workers earned $1,061 per week, the most of any race or ethnic group. Differences in earnings reflect a variety of factors, including the distribution of foreign-born and native- born workers by educational attainment, occupation, industry, and geographic region. For example, median earnings are higher for those with greater educational attainment. On average, Hispanics have lower levels of educational attainment than non-Hispanics.
Statistics and article provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics