A majority of Latinos (54 percent) believe the nation’s recession has hit them harder than any other group in the United States, according to a survey released last week by the Pew Hispanic Center.
The survey found:
- 75 percent said their personal finances are in “only fair” or “poor” shape.
- 59 percent report they or someone in their household has been out of work in the past year.
- 49 percent canceled or delayed a major purchase in the past year.
- 29 percent of Latino homeowners are underwater on their mortgage loans.
The center reported that Latinos, who make up 16 percent of the population with 50 million people living in the U.S., have long trailed other Americans on most measures of economic well-being. Analyses of recent government trend data indicate that the gaps have widened since 2005, a period that includes the housing market crash and the Great Recession.
- From 2005 to 2009, median household wealth (all assets minus debts) among Latinos fell by 66 percent, compared with a drop of 53 percent among blacks and 16 percent among whites.
- The unemployment rate among Latinos in December 2011 was 11.0 percent, up from 6.3 percent at the start of the Great Recession in December 2007. Over the same period, the national unemployment rate increased from 5.0 percent to 8.5 percent.
- Between 2006 and 2010, the poverty rate among Hispanics increased from 20.6 percent to 26.6 percent. By contrast, poverty rates increased among whites from 8.2 percent to 9.9 percent, and increased among blacks from 24.3 percent to 27.4 percent.
Despite these downbeat assessments about their current economic circumstances, Latinos are more upbeat than others about the prospect for a better future, the center reported. A total of 67 percent of Latinos said they expect their financial situation to improve over the next year, compared with 58 percent of the general population who say the same. Also, two-thirds (66 percent) of Latinos say they expect their children to eventually enjoy a standard of living that is better than theirs is now. By contrast, just 48 percent of the general public says the same.
A total of 1,200 Latino adults 18 years and older were surveyed in English and Spanish from Nov. 9 through Dec. 76, 2011.
The Pew Hispanic Center is a project of the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C.
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— Latino Links provides a periodic update of trends in digital media, education, lifestyle, marketing and politics impacting the Latino community. Compiled by Amigos805.com