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Demographics Dicho del mes Economy Education Health Hispanics as Consumers Immigration Hispanic population: 45 million and growing The nation's Hispanic population has increased 1.4 million to reach 45.5 million on July 1, 2007, or 15.1 percent of the estimated total U.S. population of 301.6 million. Hispanics remained the largest minority group, with blacks (single race or multiracial) second at 40.7 million in 2007. With a 3.3 percent increase between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, Hispanics were the fastest-growing minority group. Overall, the nation's minority population reached 102.5 million in 2007 -- 34 percent of the total. California had a minority population of 20.9 million, holding 20 percent of the nation's total. Followed by Texas and Florida, California had the largest Hispanic population of any state as of July 1, 2007. Source: Bureau of the Census, "U.S. Hispanic Population Surpasses 45 Million, Now 15 Percent of Total", May 1, 2008, http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/011910.html.
Dicho del mes Cada quien tiene su forma de matar pulgas. (Everyone has their own way of killing fleas).
Retirement is an important issue among Hispanic Americans According to the Hispanic Americans on the Road to Retirement research report, retirement is very much on the radar of middle-class Hispanic Americans - a vast majority of whom have taken steps to provide for their futures. Nearly all of those surveyed (90 percent) acknowledge that retirement security is an important goal, and two-thirds have savings earmarked for retirement. Hispanics in the U.S. attach high importance to goals, such as not outliving their savings and having enough money to maintain their lifestyle. Additionally, retirement planning, savings and confidence are strongly influenced by relationships with a trusted financial advisor. Two-thirds of Hispanic Americans are saving for retirement. Of those surveyed, 64 percent have some kind of retirement savings. More than half are saving through a workplace retirement plan, and over a third of "savers" have reached $100,000 in retirement savings. Source: Prudential, “Hispanic Americans on the Road to Retirement,” March 2008, http://www.prudential.com/media/managed/Hispanic_Retirement_FINAL_3-19-08.pdf
Latinos suffer from US downturn According to the Inter-American Development Bank, Latino immigrants in the US are sending less money home because of the country's economic downturn. Mexicans abroad sent home $5.3 billion from January to March compared to $5.5 billion in the same period in 2007. The transfers, or remittances, are Mexico's second-largest source of foreign income after oil exports, and form a vital part of its economy. But the bank said it expects little growth in remittances later this year. This translated into ten million fewer people benefiting from the cash transfers, meaning two million families could fall below the poverty line, especially in Mexico. Source: Story from BBC NEWS, " Latinos suffer from US downturn", May 1, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7376733.stm
More minorities go to college, but many don’t graduate Even though the number of black and Hispanic students entering college has increased dramatically over the last 30 years, students in these groups still lag behind white students in earning college degrees, according to UC Davis researchers. Between 1972 and 1992, the percentage of blacks who entered college rose from 46 percent to 69.5 percent and the percentage of Hispanics rose from 47 to 70. However, the college completion rate for both groups fell. In 1975, 38 percent of blacks and 40 percent of Hispanics who entered college completed their bachelor’s degrees. By 2004, 33 percent of blacks and 34 percent of Hispanics graduated. Researchers haven’t yet determined the reasons, but possible causes are:
Source: UC Davis News Service, "More Minorities Go to College, but Many Don't Graduate, " March 25, 2008, http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8585
Mexico is the second-fattest nation, after the U.S. Mexican officials say the country could surpass the United States within 10 years as the country with the most obese citizens, according to a story in the Union-Tribune MCT News Service. More than 71 percent of Mexican women and 66 percent of Mexican men are overweight, according to the latest national survey. In 1989, the story said, fewer than 10 percent of Mexican adults were overweight. Diabetes, a chronic disease associated with overweight, is the country’s leading cause of death. As in the U.S., Mexicans are living more sedentary lives, eating more fat and processed foods, and fewer whole grains and vegetables. Mexicans also face challenges not shared north of the border. In some areas of the country, it is easier to get a soft drink than a clean glass of water, according to a North Carolina professor who studies global weight gain. Mexican legislators are considering putting warning labels on junk food and taxing whole milk. However, they have found it hard fighting industry groups. In 2006, legislators voted down a tax on soft drinks, arguing that it discriminated against the poor. Source: Union-Tribune MCT News Service, Ordonez, Franco, "Mexico is second-fattest nation after U.S. Where hunger once prevailed, diabetes is leading cause of death", March 24, 2008, http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080324/news_1n24obese.html
Foreign-born Hispanics are important consumers The online Hispanic population is highly engaged with new technology, often more so than with traditional media. A new study from Terra Networks USA finds that 56 percent of respondents said they spend at least an hour per day online compared with 50 percent for TV. Interestingly, the most heavily engaged online Hispanics tend to be young males who speak Spanish at home and were born abroad. The lightest Internet users are more likely to speak English at home and have the lowest level of Hispanic pride. Online Latinos spend about 10 percent more time online than the general U.S. online population. Interestingly, the strong Latino heritage group is the one more engaged in online activities. They are more likely to own electronic devices, and so they could be a more advanced consumer. There’s a skew toward being younger, male and less likely than the other groups to speak English at home. Source: Vasquez, Diego. “Think online Hispanics, think gizmos,” Media Life Magazine, May 13, 2008, www.medialifemagazine.com
Mexican immigrants: How many come? How many leave? The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the United States has declined sharply since mid-decade, but there is no evidence of an increase during this period in the number of Mexican-born migrants returning home from the U.S., according to a new analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center. The Mexican-born population in the U.S., which had been growing earlier in the decade, was 11.5 million in early 2009. That figure is not significantly different from the 11.6 million Mexican immigrants in 2008 or the 11.2 million in 2007. The current recession has had a harsh impact on employment of Latino immigrants, raising the question of whether an increased number of Mexican-born residents are choosing to return home. This new Hispanic Center analysis finds no support for that hypothesis in government data from the United States or Mexico. Mexico is by far the leading country of origin for U.S. immigrants, accounting for a third (32%) of all foreign-born residents and two-thirds (66%) of Hispanic immigrants. The U.S. is the destination for nearly all people who leave Mexico, and about one-in-ten people born there currently lives in the U.S. Patterns of migration between the U.S. and Mexico are varied. Many immigrants come from Mexico to settle permanently, but large numbers also move both ways across the U.S.-Mexico border throughout the year, sometimes staying for only a few months, a pattern known as circular migration. Mexican-U.S. migration also tends to be seasonal, with larger northbound flows in the spring and summer and larger southbound flows in the fall and winter. As for immigration to the U.S. from Mexico, data from several sources attest to recent substantial decreases in the number of new arrivals. The inflow began to diminish in mid-decade, and has continued to do so through early 2009, according to an analysis of the latest available population surveys from both countries. This finding is reinforced by data from the U.S. Border Patrol showing that apprehensions of Mexicans attempting to cross illegally into the United States decreased by a third between 2006 and 2008. Source: Pew Hispanic Center, " Mexican immigrants: How many come? How many leave?", July 22, 2009, http://pewhispanic.org/
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