• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 5, 2003

Employment Growth Among US Hispanics

Karissa Price, Director of Marketing/Corporate Development for Lexicon Marketing USA, Inc, in their monthly Hispanic Markets Newsletter, writes "at a time when the nation's economy is stagnating, the U.S. Hispanic market is emerging as one of the most promising areas for growth. While the economy has lost nearly 1.5 million jobs since the end of 2000, employment among U.S. Hispanics has grown. This growth has been fueled by increases in the Hispanic population and the need for businesses to find cheaper labor."

She says that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Hispanics gained 600,000 jobs between 2000 and 2002, reaching a total of 16.7 million jobs. At the same time, African-Americans lost 300,000 jobs, and Anglos lost 1.1 million jobs. Overall, non-Hispanic employment fell by 1.8 million. Hispanics are inclined to take lower paying jobs, and to keep those jobs for a longer period of time. Price adds "there are about 5 million undocumented Hispanic immigrants, who are likely to stay at their jobs because they may not be eligible for unemployment benefits, and this is a group that may not be able to stay idle." The Hispanic market tends to show employment continuity, but lower wages. Blacks have more unstable employment but higher wages.

The article reports that "fewer Hispanics have jobs in manufacturing, which has suffered many of the job losses over the past two years. According to BLS estimates, nearly five million Hispanics work in the service industry, which has shown slight employment gains during the same period. These BLS trends appear to be continuing. The Bureau estimates that those with jobs grew to 63.6% of the Hispanic population in February 2003. The employment ratio for the U.S. population held at 62.4%." (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 03-03)

Price also includes, in the Newsletter, excerpts of interest to Hispanic marketers from additional noted sources:

From the Hispanic PR Wire, 04-07-03: Hispanics consider quality time with loved ones as one of the top priorities in their lives. So Hispanics take the opportunity to plan outdoor social events, such as barbecues, to spend time with family and friends. A research study by Char-Broil on the grilling preferences of Hispanic consumers finds that 80% of Hispanics grill outdoors more than 3-4 times a month, and said they spend this time with their relatives, proving that family remains the most important reason for Hispanics to barbecue.

From a study by Boston Economist Evan Schouten, for Spanish Broadcasting System and the National Hispanic Polity Institute: "Spanish-language media does not compete with Anglo media" and that "advertisers cannot effectively substitute Anglo for Spanish language media." Schouten's research shows that 15% of Hispanics do not speak English well and that English language commercials are less likely to persuade Hispanics to buy. (Source: Inside Radio, 04-14-03)