Hispanics to be impacted by Presidential Election

by Jamie Hacking on Oct 4th, 2012

A number of things are impacting the workforce in the U.S. including demographic changes. Whoever wins the presidential election in November has to address the Hispanic community’s concerns.

One of the largest advocacy groups for Hispanics, National Council of La Raza, said that the U.S. economy’s health was tied closely to the strength of the Hispanic workforce. Hispanics form 16% of the entire labor force in the U.S. and that figure is projected to increase to 18% before 2018. Hispanic workers are estimated at this time to be more than 21.3 million.

The Hispanic workforce in the U.S. is also less likely to have a college degree than blacks or whites and they generally earn less money. On average, Hispanic men earn only 66 cents for each dollar earned by white men.

Hispanic women earn only 60 cents per dollar. The sectors of employment where Hispanics are overrepresented include construction, agriculture, meatpacking and the service industry.
On Tuesday, a member of the National Council of the Raza said the Hispanic workforce would represent a third of the entire U.S. workforce by 2050.

A need for a workforce of less skilled employees in food service, farming and car washing resulted in a surge of Hispanics working in lower-wage jobs. Many Hispanic immigrants, more often than not with less or very little schooling took those types of jobs.

This group of workers will be affected by the election through initiatives for smaller businesses, collective bargaining agreements and the increased enforcement of violations in the workplace.
Hispanics have begun to influence state and local elections by supporting certain candidates or running for office themselves. They play large roles in both electing members of Congress and the President of the U.S.