tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/labor-force-80354/articlesLabor force – The Conversation2021-02-05T13:07:42Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1546952021-02-05T13:07:42Z2021-02-05T13:07:42ZLatest jobs report shows why the unemployment rate needs fixing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382619/original/file-20210204-20-1hhf1e4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=203%2C0%2C5154%2C3094&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The number of people seeking jobless benefits has soared during the pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreak-AidLapses/9bd2db11e6844b25a520c99c34438d3e/photo?Query=unemployment&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=11163&currentItemNo=44">AP Photo/John Locher</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
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<p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/10/24/773161382/is-the-unemployment-rate-broken">Many economists</a> <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Unemployment.html">would agree</a> that the official U.S. unemployment rate <a href="https://www.epi.org/blog/the-unemployment-rate-is-not-the-right-measure-to-make-economic-policy-decisions-around-the-coronavirus-driven-recession/">is an inadequate measure</a> of actual labor market conditions. </p>
<p>Although this is one of the most cited pieces of data on the economy as a whole, not many people understand how this indicator is calculated and who is and – more importantly – who isn’t included in it. The latest data, which found that <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm">joblessness fell</a> from 6.7% in December to 6.3% in January, shows why.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GyTN5PYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">labor economist</a>, I believe it’s important for more Americans to take a closer look under the hood to get a more accurate view of U.S. unemployment.</p>
<h2>Vanishing act</h2>
<p>The unemployment rate that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-05/u-s-payrolls-rise-less-than-forecast-after-bigger-december-drop?srnd=premium&sref=Hjm5biAW">newspapers commonly cite</a> is known as the U-3. But one of its biggest shortcomings is that it doesn’t include people who have given up looking for work. </p>
<p>To see this, let’s examine the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE">latest figures</a>. At first glance, the drop in the unemployment rate of 0.4 percentage point seems like good news. A rise or fall of just 0.1 percentage point in the rate translates roughly to 160,000 people, which is equivalent to the <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities">population of a medium-sized U.S. city</a>, so that would suggest over 600,000 people were no longer unemployed. </p>
<p>But the rate didn’t fall because more people, on net, found jobs. It fell because over 400,000 people “vanished” from the labor force – the vast majority of them women. The data show that yes, about 606,000 people were no longer considered unemployed in January, but only 201,000 people actually found jobs. </p>
<p>This is because to be <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm#unemployed">classified as unemployed</a> by the Bureau of Labor Statistics a person must be without a job, currently available to work and actively looking for work in the previous four weeks. This excludes a lot of people who used to be gainfully employed but essentially got discouraged. In total, there were about 4.4 million fewer people in the labor force last month compared with a year earlier. That gives us a <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CIVPART">participation rate of 61.4%</a> – the lowest it’s been since 1975, excluding the worst months during the pandemic. </p>
<p>But even as the issue excludes some people who arguably should be included, the rate also <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm#employed">includes people</a> it probably shouldn’t, such as people who worked for no pay and part-time workers working as little as a few hours a week. </p>
<h2>A search for solutions</h2>
<p>Fortunately, there is a published version of the unemployment rate intended to address some of these issues. It’s called the U-6, or the <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-real-unemployment-rate-3306198">“real” unemployment rate</a> by the media, and <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/U6RATE">shows joblessness was 11.1% in January</a>. That represents a difference of over 7 million jobs.</p>
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<p>But even that one may be underestimating the true depths of unemployment because it assumes furloughed workers are employed and the self-employed are never without a job. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3467994">2019 paper aimed to remedy these issues</a> by classifying part-time workers as “62.7% employed” and those who have been furloughed as unemployed. It tries to incorporate the self-employed by assuming they are unemployed at the same rate as of the rest of the work force. The resulting unemployment rate is not updated, but would <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3635178">put joblessness at 24.4%</a> just after the peak of the COVID-19 crisis in May – compared with 13.3% according to U-3 and 21.2% for U-6.</p>
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<p>Correctly estimating how many people are without work is hard. Besides these issues, rates that appear in headlines obscure significant variations such as race, education level and gender. </p>
<p>Finding a way to accurately reflect what’s really going on in the economy is pivotal to making good policy and fueling a recovery that lifts all boats. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154695/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Veronika Dolar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The widely reported unemployment rate – currently 6.3% – doesn’t fully reflect the reality of joblessness in the US economy.Veronika Dolar, Assistant Professor of Economics, SUNY Old WestburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1471462020-10-28T12:23:36Z2020-10-28T12:23:36ZRefugees don’t undermine the US economy – they energize it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364365/original/file-20201019-19-c3czq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=65%2C48%2C5281%2C3173&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Demonstrators at Philadelphia International Airport protest President Trump's executive order clamping down on refugee admissions on Jan. 29, 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/demonstrators-at-philadelphia-international-airport-protest-news-photo/633031522?adppopup=true">Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Trump administration last month announced plans to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trump-cuts-refugee-cap/2020/10/01/a5113b62-03ed-11eb-8879-7663b816bfa5_story.html">to cut the number of refugees allowed to enter the United States to the lowest level in 40 years</a>. This year’s cap of 18,000 admissions is well below the average annual limit of about 95,000 refugees in the years before the Trump administration. </p>
<p>This drastic cut typifies the Trump administration’s overall anti-immigration stance, reflected in a series of <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-11/trump-vows-to-sign-executive-order-to-change-immigration-laws">executive orders aimed at reducing undocumented and legal migration</a> channels in the past four years.</p>
<p>The administration has said that refugees – those forced to leave their country to escape war or persecution – <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/us/politics/refugees-revenue-cost-report-trump.html">do not benefit the U.S. economy</a>. It has portrayed refugees as a drain on resources and argued that a lower number of refugees is required to <a href="https://www.state.gov/transmission-of-the-presidents-report-to-congress-on-the-proposed-refugee-admissions-for-fiscal-year-2021/">prioritize the well-being of Americans</a>. </p>
<p>This feeds into the perception among some Americans that immigrants come to this country and either take their jobs or do not work at all and live off of welfare. Both those ideas are false. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://stockton.academia.edu/RamyaVIjaya">my research</a>, I <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13545701.2020.1759815">have found that refugees are far from an economic drain</a>. They are <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/06/19/refugees-are-a-win-win-win-formula-for-economic-development/">quick to integrate into local economies</a>. And nationally they have <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/why-hide-facts-about-refugee-costs-and-benefits">high labor force participation rates</a>, which includes people who are employed or looking for employment. </p>
<h2>Government backing</h2>
<p>The U.S. resettlement program began in 1980 with the <a href="https://www.archivesfoundation.org/documents/refugee-act-1980/">Refugee Act</a>, passed with unanimous bipartisan support. The measure established the formal mechanism for refugee resettlement in the country, including an <a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr">Office of Refugee Resettlement</a> within the State Department. </p>
<p>The program gives money to help often destitute refugees resettle – roughly $2,000 per refugee, not including local-level resources that vary per state – to assist with living expenses for the first three months upon arrival. For further assistance, refugees can apply for programs like welfare or food stamps. </p>
<p>Those who do not qualify for welfare can apply for the <a href="https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/620">Refugee Cash Assistance</a> program. The amount of assistance varies by state but is usually in the range of $300 a month. RCA in Washington state, for example, is capped at <a href="https://www.dshs.wa.gov/esa/community-services-offices/refugee-cash-assistance">$363 per individual</a> per month. This assistance is available to refugees for up to eight months from their arrival date. </p>
<p>A major focus of the resettlement process, however, is to encourage refugees to <a href="https://www.state.gov/refugee-admissions/reception-and-placement/">achieve economic independence quickly</a>. </p>
<p>Within a month of arrival, refugees receive permission to work legally. During the first eight months, the program also provides <a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/refugee-support-services">language training and employment support services</a>.</p>
<h2>An economic success</h2>
<p>After analyzing State Department data as well as U.S. Census data, I’ve found that refugees have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/ref/10.1080/13545701.2020.1759815?scroll=top">integrated well into U.S. labor markets</a> despite arriving from vastly different backgrounds – the top five countries of birth were Burma, Iraq, Somalia, Bhutan and Sudan. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365207/original/file-20201023-13-1q9xpkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365207/original/file-20201023-13-1q9xpkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365207/original/file-20201023-13-1q9xpkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365207/original/file-20201023-13-1q9xpkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365207/original/file-20201023-13-1q9xpkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365207/original/file-20201023-13-1q9xpkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365207/original/file-20201023-13-1q9xpkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365207/original/file-20201023-13-1q9xpkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Bhutanese refugee Prakriti Rai, 22, works at her mother Devi’s Manakamana Grocery in Aurora, Colorado.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bhutanese-refugee-prakriti-rai-works-at-her-mother-devis-news-photo/1042361718?adppopup=true">Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>From the Census data, I found that 64% of refugee women who have spent 10 years or more in the U.S. are working or actively looking for work, compared with 55% for native-born women. This is true even after controlling for individual characteristics like age, level of education and English proficiency. </p>
<h2>Local-level success</h2>
<p>I also found similar trends at the local level. Using the same Census data, I compared <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/15/within-7-years-refugees-are-self-sufficient-and-contributing-to-the-u-s-on-average/">refugees resettled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania</a>, with the local population.</p>
<p>I found that the median household income estimates for refugees resettled in the area for seven or more years was $46,126, higher than the median income estimate of $38,253 for the local population.</p>
<p>And 66% of refugees in Philadelphia were working or looking for work, compared with the local average of 56%. While newly arriving refugees have low levels of English proficiency, after seven years nearly 76% report English fluency.</p>
<p>Other studies report similar findings across the country.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.hias.org/sites/default/files/clevelandrefugeeeconomic-impact.pdf">economic impact study</a> in Cleveland found that refugee families made substantial economic contributions to the region, leading to an estimated $48 million in additional spending in 2012. As the study notes, refugees typically found employment within five months of being resettled.</p>
<p>Several other cities have seen economic revitalization due to refugee resettlement. Due to an influx of refugees, Utica and Buffalo, New York, were able to reverse <a href="https://www.niskanencenter.org/refugees-revitalizing-great-american-cities-facing-decline/">long-term population</a> decline. Successive groups of refugees <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/happened-struggling-city-opened-arms-refugees">revived neighborhoods in these shrinking cities</a>, expanded the tax base and set up small businesses. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Nationally, I also found that refugees find the kind of jobs deemed <a href="https://research.newamericaneconomy.org/report/refugee-on-the-frontlines-covid-19/">essential services during the coronavirus pandemic</a>. The top occupational categories for refugee women include housekeeping, nursing and home health care aides. Refugee men are often hired as meat and fish processors or janitors.</p>
<p>Many Americans argue that <a href="https://www.rescue.org/press-release/irc-report-nearly-60-percent-americans-believe-us-has-moral-obligation-help-refugees">refugee resettlement is a moral obligation</a>. But it’s also worth reiterating that often the opposition to refugee resettlement is based on a misperception about the economics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147146/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ramya Devan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Refugees hinder the US economy, the Trump administration has said as it cuts refugee admissions to record lows. But data show that they boost economies, revive neighborhoods and expand tax bases.Ramya Devan, Professor of Economics, Stockton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1289812020-01-22T13:35:43Z2020-01-22T13:35:43ZWhere are the Hispanic executives?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307758/original/file-20191218-11891-1w5ekwo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">American executives only represent a fraction of the workforce.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/corporate-business-team-manager-meeting-682694722">UfaBizPhoto/The Conversation</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/despite-spending-billions-companies-cant-buy-diversity/2019/11/21/d8907b92-fb1a-11e9-ac8c-8eced29ca6ef_story.html">organizations have prioritized</a> workplace <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/us/black-in-corporate-america-report.html">equality and access</a> to high-paying, executive level jobs for minority groups in recent years.</p>
<p>Several 2020 presidential candidates are putting forward plans to increase minority executive positions by <a href="https://berniesanders.com/issues/corporate-accountability-and-democracy/">diversifing corporate boards</a>, <a href="https://medium.com/@teamwarren/valuing-the-work-of-women-of-color-c652bf6ccc9a">punishing companies with poor diversity track records</a> and <a href="https://peteforamerica.com/policies/douglass-plan/#EqualEmploymentandBusinessOpportunity">increasing funding for minority-led business institutions</a>.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/race-states-and-mixed-fate-white-men#overlay-context=diversity-reports">according to our own 2019 analysis</a>, white men still hold the majority of executive positions such as CEOs, management directors and financial officers. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://fulbrightonline.academia.edu/JDSwerzenski">economic</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6IIFqigAAAAJ&hl=en">and communication</a> <a href="https://www.umass.edu/economics/sites/default/files/Hoyt%2C%20Eric%20-%20CV.pdf">scholars</a>, <a href="https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/race-states-and-mixed-fate-white-men#overlay-context=diversity-reports">we looked at</a> <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lW_d6eXMKx6rcPQqH81Q52BROio3odJaldPxth0Cd34/edit#gid=161667918">Equal Employment Opportunity Commission employment data</a> for executives at large and mid-sized companies. Our analysis shows that white men sit in 65.5% of these high-paying boardroom positions while representing only <a href="https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/race-states-and-mixed-fate-white-men#overlay-context=diversity-reports">38% of the U.S. workforce</a>. </p>
<p>The dominance of white male executives, however, is by no means evenly distributed across the country. Our report tracks representation among Hispanic executives city by city.</p>
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<h2>C-suite inequality</h2>
<p>As of 2019, Hispanics are the largest minority group in the U.S. at <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045218">18.3%</a>. </p>
<p>Statistics from 2017 show that Hispanics make up <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/race-and-ethnicity/2017/home.htm">17%</a> of the labor force. However, they occupy only <a href="https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/race-states-and-mixed-fate-white-men#overlay-context=diversity-reports">4.3% of executive positions</a> in the U.S. Hispanic representation is roughly equal to that of black executives and somewhat lower than Asian American executives.</p>
<p>The gap between labor force and executive representation is wider among Hispanics than any other group.</p>
<p>Executive jobs offer salary – <a href="https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/race-states-and-mixed-fate-white-men#overlay-context=diversity-reports">US$155,586 on average</a> – benefits and job security that simply are not available in lower level positions. They also offer the power to drive initiatives, including those focused on diversity.</p>
<h2>Where do the Hispanic executives work?</h2>
<p>Pittsburgh is the only large city in the U.S. to nearly reach equity. Hispanics comprise <a href="https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/diversity-analytics/visualization/Rank%2C%20Plot%2C%20or%20Map%20by%20City">1.3% of the city’s executive workforce</a> and 1.4% of its overall labor market.</p>
<p>That low overall representation is a trend among cities with the best equity. Four out of five American cities with the most equitable representation – Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis and Cincinnati - have Hispanic populations of less than 4%.</p>
<p>These findings fall in line with <a href="https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/race-states-and-mixed-fate-white-men#overlay-context=diversity-reports">our earlier research</a> showing that minority representation in executive positions is highest in areas with the lowest minority population.</p>
<p>The final city in the top five, Miami, stands out for its high representation of Hispanic executives at 24.6% and high percentage of Hispanics in the overall workforce at 44.1%.</p>
<p>Miami is also an anomaly among other large cities with Hispanic work forces such as <a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/carly6373#!/vizhome/MetropolitanAreasStory_5_8/City_viz">Houston</a> – 43% overall labor force and 10.3% executive representation – and <a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/carly6373#!/vizhome/MetropolitanAreasStory_5_8/City_viz">Los Angeles</a> – 34.2% labor force and 8% executive. </p>
<p>Driving Miami’s high representation is likely the city’s <a href="http://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/the-color-of-wealth-in-miami/">strong economic connections to Central and South America</a>, which favors Hispanic cultural background and Spanish language capability among top executives.</p>
<p>This is especially true with regards to the many media-based companies <a href="https://therealdeal.com/miami/2016/02/09/nbcuniversal-telemundo-unveils-plans-for-new-250m-headquarters/">located in Miami</a>, such as Telemundo, which targets consumers <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jul-26-fi-gaspin26-story.html">throughout the Spanish-speaking world</a>.</p>
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<h2>Trends at the bottom</h2>
<p>So how do things look at the other end of the scale?</p>
<p>New York City has the largest Hispanic population in the U.S with 2.3 million individuals. They comprise of 22.6% of <a href="https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/diversity-analytics/visualization/Rank%2C%20Plot%2C%20or%20Map%20by%20City">the city’s total workforce</a>, including 28.7% of its service workers and 40% of its laborer positions. </p>
<p>But only 4.5% of New York’s executives are Hispanic. </p>
<p>New York matters because of the large number of Hispanics who live there and the relative power of its executive positions. In 2019, <a href="https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/fortune-500-these-nyc-companies-are-among-nations-biggest">73 of the Fortune 500 companies</a> were headquartered in the city, among them <a href="http://www.corporateoffice.com/Citibank.html">Citibank</a>, <a href="https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/verizon-corporate-headquarters">Verizon</a>, <a href="https://www.metlife.com/support-and-manage/contact-us/">MetLife</a> and many other major firms. </p>
<p>It’s unlikely that there is one key factor behind the lack of Hispanic representation in these jobs. One possibility is an entrenched corporate culture in New York <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/11/business/dealbook/new-york-city-diversity-boardroom.html">dominated by white male executives</a>. Further, unlike in Miami, Hispanic cultural and linguistic backgrounds <a href="https://www.diversitybestpractices.com/latino-executive-manifesto#block-system-main">are perhaps less valued in these boardrooms</a>.</p>
<p>This, however, shouldn’t eliminate the possibility for change. New York’s trade workers – a group once dominated by white men – now includes <a href="https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/diversity-analytics/visualization/Rank%2C%20Plot%2C%20or%20Map%20by%20City">21.3% Hispanic workers</a>, one of the highest rates in the country. Efforts to develop Hispanic executive candidates similar to Miami’s <a href="https://www.sflhcc.com/youth-entrepreneurship-program.php">youth entrepreneurship program</a> or Pittsburgh’s <a href="https://www.post-gazette.com/business/career-workplace/2019/12/30/Hispanics-Latinos-business-entrepreneurship-Pittsburgh-resources/stories/201912190016">business incubator program</a> centered in the city’s Hispanic Beechwood neighborhood might lead to greater diversification of New York’s corporate offices.</p>
<p>Rounding out the bottom five are San Jose, Salt Lake City, Hartford and Oklahoma City, all cities with at least 10% Hispanic representation in the labor force. </p>
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<h2>Diversity matters</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21842">Research indicates</a> that boardroom diversity can positively impact <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/delivering-through-diversity">both profitability</a> and job satisfaction within companies, in particular by bridging the divide between company executives and lower level employees.</p>
<p>With recent reports showing <a href="https://aldianews.com/articles/leaders/top-hispanic-business-leaders-gather-miami/55540">stagnation in the overall number of Hispanic executives</a> nationwide, it’s particularly important for cities and companies to consider what more can be done to bring more Hispanics into the boardroom.</p>
<p>Cities might bolster Hispanic business participation and entrepreneurship by helping build <a href="https://www.nextpittsburgh.com/city-design/hispanic-business-incubator-brings-resources-to-entrepreneurs-in-beechview/">business incubator programs</a>, <a href="https://www.sflhcc.com/">supporting Hispanic business development groups</a> and promoting <a href="https://hispanicexecutive.com/nuno-fernandes-ilumno/">educational opportunities</a> at area universities. </p>
<p>To make change Hispanic workers need to be employed in positions that feed into to the highest company levels. Currently, 8% of all managerial and 6% of all professional positions in the U.S. are Hispanic, far below their labor market share of 17%.</p>
<p>Overriding these discrepancies means <a href="https://www.tlnt.com/why-are-latinos-leaving-corporate-america/">acknowledging cultural blindspots</a> that often exclude Hispanic workers, such as non-Latino employers recognizing unconscious biases in their communication styles and providing opportunities to professionally use Hispanic cultural competencies.</p>
<p>These efforts are important nationwide. However, they apply critically in cities such as Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Phoenix, all cities with large and deep-rooted Hispanic populations where representation is lagging.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>JD Swerzenski is affiliated with the Center for Employment Equity at UMass-Amherst. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Donald Tomaskovic-Devey receives funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Hoyt receives funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. </span></em></p>Hispanic Americans make up just 4.3% of executive positions. They are 17% of the labor force, the largest of any racial minority group.J.D. Swerzenski, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, UMass AmherstDonald T. Tomaskovic-Devey, Professor of Sociology; Director, Center for Employment Equity, UMass AmherstEric Hoyt, Research Director of the Center for Employment Equity, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.