America’s Hispanic population has grown dramatically: In 1990, Latinos comprised 8.8 percent of the U.S. population; by 2010, that figure had swelled to 16.4 percent. As they fanned out across the country, these newcomers have changed the economic and political landscape. But acomprehensive new analysis of the Census data by the Pew Research Center finds that a slowdown in immigration from Latin America—particularly from Mexico—plus a drop in Hispanic birth rates after the Great Recession has tempered the settlement trends of past decades. (Both the Census and Pew use the terms Latino and Hispanic interchangeably.)
Below are some major highlights from the report:
Latino dispersion is slowing down
In the 1990s and 2000s, jobs and affordable living attracted Latino immigrants to cities and towns that weren’t traditional immigrant gateways: Newcomers often bypassed New York City and L.A. and settled in metros like Charlotte,New Orleans, and Atlanta, where demand for agriculture, construction, and manufacturing labor was growing.
Pew’s analysis shows that the economic downturn impeded the influx to these new destinations. Between 2007 and 2008, the share of U.S. counties with at least 1,000 Latino residents rose by only 4 percent points (from 46 to 50 percent), which is only half of the gain between 2000 and 2007 (8 percent points, from 38 to 46 percent).
[For more of this story, written by Tanvi Misra, go to http://www.citylab.com/housing...nos-live-now/499043/]
Comments (0)