The Demographics of the Jobs Recovery
Hispanics and Asians are gaining jobs at a faster rate in the economic recovery than are blacks and whites, immigrants are outpacing the native born, and men are faring better than women.
Work and Employment 
The Center tracks employment trends for Latinos on a regular basis, examining differences by nativity, generation, country of origin, gender, occupation and industry. The reports also offer comparisons with other racial and ethnic groups.
Also see our statistical portraits, state and county databases, demographic profiles and Census 2010 tables for data on the characteristics of the Latino and foreign-born populations in the United States.
03.21.12
02.13.12
Labor Force Growth Slows, Hispanic Share Grows
Hispanics will account for three-quarters of the growth in the nation’s labor force from 2010 to 2020, according to new projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
01.26.12
Hispanics Say They Have the Worst of a Bad Economy
A majority of Latinos believe that the economic downturn that began in 2007 has been harder on them than on any other ethnic group in America.
03.10.11
After the Great Recession: Native Born Workers Begin to Share in Jobs Recovery
For the first time since the official end of the Great Recession in June 2009, native-born workers in the second half of 2010 joined foreign-born workers in experiencing the beginnings of a recovery in employment.
10.29.10
After the Great Recession: Foreign Born Gain Jobs; Native Born Lose Jobs
In the year following the end of the Great Recession in June 2009, foreign-born workers gained 656,000 jobs while native-born workers lost 1.2 million. As a result, the unemployment rate fell for immigrants while it rose for the native born.
05.13.10
Hispanics, High School Dropouts and the GED
Just one-in-ten Hispanic high school drop-outs has a General Educational Development (GED) credential, widely regarded as the best “second chance” pathway to college, vocational training and military service for adults who do not graduate high school.
12.11.09
Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America
A Pew Hispanic Center report based on a new nationwide survey of Latino youths and on analyses of government data examines the values, attitudes, experiences and self-identity of this generation as it comes of age in America.
10.07.09
Latinos and Education: Explaining the Attainment Gap
Nearly nine-in-ten (89%) Latino young adults ages 16 to 25 say that a college education is important for success in life, yet only about half that number-48%-say that they themselves plan to get a college degree.
10.07.09
The Changing Pathways of Hispanic Youths Into Adulthood
Young Latino adults in the United States are more likely to be in school or the work force now than their counterparts were in previous generations.
02.12.09
Unemployment Rose Sharply Among Latino Immigrants in 2008
The current recession is having an especially severe impact on employment prospects for immigrant Hispanics.
01.08.09
Hispanics and the Economic Downturn: Housing Woes and Remittance Cuts
Almost one-in-ten (9%) Latino homeowners say they missed a mortgage payment or were unable to make a full payment and 3% say they received a foreclosure notice in the past year.
12.15.08
Latino Workers in the Ongoing Recession: 2007 to 2008
A small but significant decline has occurred during the current recession in the share of Latino immigrants active in the U.S. labor force.
10.02.08
Sharp Decline in Income for Non-Citizen Immigrant Households, 2006-2007
The current economic slowdown has taken a far greater toll on non-citizen immigrants than it has on the United States population as a whole.
06.04.08
Latino Labor Report, 2008: Construction Reverses Job Growth for Latinos
Due mainly to a slump in the construction industry, the unemployment rate for Hispanics in the U.S. rose to 6.5% in the first quarter of 2008, well above the 4.7% rate for all non-Hispanics.
08.21.07
1995-2005: Foreign-Born Latinos Make Progress on Wages
Foreign-born Latinos, especially the newly arrived, were much less likely to be low-wage earners in 2005 than in 1995.
09.27.06
Latino Labor Report 2006: Strong Gains in Employment
The Hispanic unemployment rate reached a historic low in the second quarter of 2006.
08.10.06
Growth in the Foreign-Born Workforce and Employment of the Native Born
Rapid increases in the foreign-born population at the state level are not associated with negative effects on the employment of native-born workers.
03.30.06
America’s Immigration Quandary
A growing number of Americans believe that immigrants are a burden to the country, taking jobs and housing and creating strains on the health care system. Many people also worry about the cultural impact of the expanding number of newcomers in the U.S.
03.07.06
Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.
Analysis of the March 2005 Current Population Survey shows that there were 11.1 million unauthorized migrants in the United States a year ago.
12.15.05
The Occupational Status and Mobility of Hispanics
Hispanics and whites perform different types of work in the labor market. Moreover, the occupational divide between the two largest segments of the labor force appears to be widening.
12.06.05
Survey of Mexican Migrants, Part Three
The vast majority of undocumented migrants from Mexico were gainfully employed before they left for the United States. Thus, failure to find work at home does not seem to be the primary reason that the estimated 6.3 million undocumented migrants from Mexico have come to the U.S.
07.26.05
The New Latino South: The Context and Consequences of Rapid Population Growth
The Hispanic population is growing faster in much of the South than anywhere else in the United States.
05.02.05
Latino Labor Report, 2004
Hispanic workers enjoyed significant gains in employment in 2004. But the concentration of Latinos in relatively low-skill occupations contributed to reduced earnings for them for the second year in a row.
01.24.05
Hispanics: A People in Motion
The places Latinos live, the jobs they hold, the schooling they complete, the languages they speak, even their attitudes on key political and social issues, are all in flux.
10.18.04
The Wealth of Hispanic Households
According to the study, the median net worth of Hispanic households in 2002 was $7,932. This was only nine percent of $88,651, the median wealth of non-Hispanic White households at the same time. The net worth of Non-Hispanic Blacks was only $5,988. Thus, the wealth of Latino and Black households is less than one-tenth the wealth of White households even though Census data show their income is two-thirds as much.
06.16.04
Latino Labor Report, First Quarter 2004
The “jobless recovery” may have turned around, but gains for Latinos have not been widespread. Immigrant Latinos, especially the most recent arrivals, have captured the most jobs.
02.23.04
Latino Labor Report, 2003
Latinos experienced substantial gains in the U.S. labor market in 2003. The number of Hispanics added to the employment rolls was twice as high as in 2002, and unemployment eased downward. For the first time since January 2000, Latinos experienced increases in employment that consistently outpaced their population growth in the United States.
01.07.04
Immigration Data Excerpts
In light of President George W. Bush's January 7, 2004 announcement of a new immigration initiative, the Pew Hispanic Center provided information about attitudes towards immigrant and immigration policy, and estimates of the size of the undocumented population in the United States. Sources for the data are the National Survey of Latinos, conducted in 2002 jointly by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Center's March 2002 report entitled “How Many Undocumented: The Numbers Behind the U.S.-Mexico Migration Talk.”
10.07.03
Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained
Latinos in the U.S. labor force were slow to recover from the effects of the 2001 recession, lagging non-Hispanic whites in restoring employment growth and the unemployment rate to their pre-recession levels. Immigrants and young Latinos encountered particularly hard times but college-educated Hispanics experienced substantial improvements in employment levels. These are among the key findings of this report on the labor market experience of Latino workers since the economic slowdown began at the end of 2000.
06.12.03
Hispanic Youth Dropping Out of U.S. Schools
High school dropout rates are a key performance measure for the American education system. This report shows that the standard method for calculating the dropout rate leads to a distorted picture of the status of Hispanic students in U.S. schools.
Highlights