Despite Hurdles, Latinos See Bright Futures

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According to the most recent census, there are over 55 million Latinos living in the United States. They make up the largest ethnic minority group in the United States and their numbers and influence are growing at a rapid pace. While they face many health, financial, and educational disparities a new report has found that the future looks bright for Latinos.

A new survey from the Pew Research Center has found that 81% of Latinos expect their personal finances to improve in the next year. This is up significantly from the 67% that were surveyed who felt that way in 2011.

Latinos are also more optimistic than the general public; 61% overall felt they would improve financially in the upcoming year. The research determined that the “bulk” of the optimism is coming from Latino Millennials. Of the Latinos below the age of 30, 90% report they expect their financial status to improve.

“This is important because Millennial Latinos make up a large part of the Latino adult population, about 40%—much larger than the 20% proportion that Millennials make up in the overall U.S. population,” said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of Hispanic research at the Pew Research Center and one of the authors of the report.

Lopez noted that many of these young Latinos are graduating from college and joining the workforce for the first time. However, there is some disconnect between the optimism and reality. Unemployment remains higher for Latinos than it did in 2006, before the Great Recession, although it has fallen from its highest point of 12.6% in 2010 to 5.6% in 2016.

“Many Latinos live in states like California and Texas that have seen job growth,” said Lopez. “So, while many formerly unemployed Latinos may be getting jobs … when we look at income, wealth and poverty, Latinos haven’t made much progress. They may be getting jobs but they aren’t creating wealth.”

The median household income for this Latino Millennials has remained essentially unchanged since 2008 at $42,491, compared to $56,866 for white households (which has also remained stagnant), according to the latest Census Bureau data.

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