Latinos lack job security despite increase in hiring

An employment analysis released by the National Council of La Raza shows that Latinos are making important contributions to the industries that are helping drive the economic recovery. However, Latino workers remain in a precarious position when it comes to keeping their jobs and advancing in the labor market.

The analysis of Latino employment trends shows that significant job growth is occurring in industries with strong Latino representation. However, other indicators point to a lack of job security among Latino workers, which may reflect the low quality of newly created jobs and their concerns about lack of preparedness.

The service sector accounted for the bulk of the 192,000 new jobs between January and February 2011, thanks to industries such as administrative and waste services, nursing and residential care, and trucking, where Latinos are highly represented.

However, February was the third month in a row in which Latinos exited the labor force, which probably contributed to the slightly lower Latino unemployment rate, 11.6 percent in February compared to 11.9 percent in January. Between January and February alone, 187,000 Latinos dropped out of the labor force. Poll data show that a lack of good jobs is causing many Latinos to give up looking for work.

Source: National Council of La Raza, “Good Jobs Still Scarce Despite Growth in Industries with Strong Latino Representation,” March 7, 2011.