Social and economic status of the Hispanic foreign-born: the assimilation experience.

1985 
This paper examines the social economic and demographic characteristics of the US Hispanic population. Data on foreign-born Hispanics are divided into 4 major categories: Mexico Cuba Hispanic Central America (including the Dominican Republic) and Hispanic South America. According to the 1980 US census the foreign born population from Spanish Latin America included about 3.8 million people or 26% of the Spanish-origin population. Most are from Mexico (over 2 million) and Cuba (about 600000). Hispanic Central Americans in the US are most often from respectively the Dominican Republic El Salvador Guatemala and Panama. Hispanic South Americans are most often from Colombia Ecuador Argentina Peru Chile and Venezuela. The 1980 census shows that Hispanic foreign-born population is slightly older than the native population but this is influenced by the high median age of the Cubans. 72% of the Hispanic foreign-born are not citizens. 93% of the Hispanics as opposed to 75% of the natives live in metropolitan areas. 29% of Hispanics and natives over 15 years old are married. The fertility of Hispanic foreign-born women is substantially higher than that of native women 2.9 as opposed to 2.4 children ever born. Cuban women have the lowest fertility about 1.9 children per woman. 96% of the Hispanics speak Spanish at home; about half speak English well or very well. 37% of the Hispanics over 25 years old are high school graduates as opposed to 68% of the natives. Mexicans have the lowest levels of education followed by the Cubans Central Americans and South Americans. The unemployment rate for Hispanics is 8.6% while for natives it is 6.5%. Mexicans have the highest unemployment rate. 35% of the Hispanics work as operators fabricators or laborers; only 11% are managers or professionals. Hispanics median family income is $14500 substantially lower than natives $20000; Mexicans and Central Americans have much lower incomes than Cubans and South Americans. Differences between different Hispanic groups are determined primarily by differences at entry rather than by differences in assimilation.
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