Russell Contreras (twitter.com/russcontreras/BigStory.ap.org/The Associated Press (via mail.com); Crystal Quintero, Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico - The
growth of the U.S. Latino (Latina, Latinx) population -- once the nation's fastest growing -- slowed considerably over the past seven years and slipped behind that
of Asian Americans amid declining "Hispanic" immigration and birth rates,
a study released [September 8th, 2016] found.
Update: I hate social media. |
The Pew Research Center study, which analyzed U.S.
Census Bureau data, found that the U.S. Hispanic population grew
annually on average by 2.8 percent between 2007 and 2014. That's down
from the 4.4 percent annual growth from 2000 to 2007, before the Great
Recession [which was a new Depression].
By comparison, the Asian American population grew
around 3.4 percent on average annually during the same period. William
H. Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan
Policy Program, the slower growth is largely a factor of the economy. A
slower economy is influencing families to hold off on having more
children, and it's discouraging migration amid stronger border
enforcement, he said.
Kenneth M. Johnson, a senior demographer at the
University of New Hampshire's Carsey School of Public Policy, said U.S.
Hispanic women between the ages of 20 to 24 have seen a 36 percent
decline in birth rates.
"That's by far the largest decline of any other
group," Johnson said. Despite slowing population growth, Latinos still
accounted for 54 percent of the nation's population growth between 2000
and 2014, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.
KFI AM's roving reporter Jo Kwon at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona with zebra (KFI). |
.
Regional growth patterns also have changed some
following the economic downturn of 2007 reflecting the changing
economies of states, the study found. Counties in the South continued to
account for the largest share of the nation's Hispanic population
growth -- 43 percent between 2007 and 2014.
Among the other
fastest-growing counties for Latinos were Luzerne County in
Pennsylvania, Beadle County in South Dakota, Duchesne County in Utah, and
Burleigh County in North Dakota.
"Latinos are coming to Utah because the government
here is doing a lot to create jobs," said Rogelio Franco of Entre
Latinos, a Salt Lake City, Utah advocacy group that works to integrate
Hispanics into the state. Entre Latinos was not affiliated with the
study.
Franco said he thinks the declining birth rate is a
result of Latino millennials holding off on having children while
pursuing their education. "They are planning more," Franco said. "They
are focusing on other things."
I'm white, you're Latina, and we're best friends. Should we go to Hawaii again? - No. |
The growth in North Dakota's statewide Latino
population nearly doubled to 18,000, making it the state with the
highest Hispanic growth rate over seven years. Though small in numbers
compared to states like California and Texas, the rise in Latino
residents has put pressures on local governments and nonprofits to
accommodate the new residents.
For example, in 2014 Catholic nuns from Mexico were
sent to North Dakota to help serve new Hispanic parishioners in that
state. North Dakota had experienced an oil boom until recently,
attracting workers from around the country. It remains one of the least
diverse states in the country.
- The Making of a People: "Hispanics" and the Future of America (NCBI)
- Census: Asians remain fastest-growing racial group in US
- Trump paints new target on legal immigration
I'm Asian, you're Jewish, should we run FB? |
"Latino population growth has become less
concentrated in counties with historically large Latino populations and
whose Latino population grew by at least 10,000," the study's authors
wrote. Though the growth has slowed in the last seven years, the Latino
population in the South has exploded when examined over 14 years.
We're not a model. |
From 2000 to 2014, Latino populations in Tennessee
and South Carolina, for example, nearly tripled. North Carolina also saw
its population spike 136 percent since 2000, the report said. Mauricio
Castro, an organizer with the North Carolina Congress of Latino
Organizations, said Latino immigrants coming to the region tend to work
in the construction or service industry.
Still, between 2007 and 2014, nearly 40 counties
experienced declines in the percentage of Latinos. Most of those
counties were in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas -- states with
traditionally large Hispanic populations.
Frey said once the U.S. economy starts picking up,
he expects to see a return of higher rates of immigration and increase
births. "This is not the end of Latino growth in the United States by
any means," Frey said. Source
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