By: Daniel Nardini
Regardless of who becomes president, and who will run this country, the next leader must still contend with the tens of millions of unemployed and those who have stopped looking for work but who need it. Even though the October economic report from the U.S. General Accounting Office shows that unemployment inched up from 7.8 percent to 7.9 percent, about 170,000 jobs were created for the month. There are still not enough jobs to signal a general economic recovery. Most economists believe that it will take 250,000 newly created jobs a month to signal a true recovery. One figure that is truly concerning is the Latino unemployment rate. It has gone up from 9.9 percent to 10 percent in October.
Why is this a serious problem? This main reason is obvious—Latinos constitute the largest ethnic group in the United States. If unemployment affects Latinos on such a major scale, then it will affect the overall unemployment rate. Only the Native Americans suffer from a higher unemployment rate (16 percent). Latinos are spread over a wide area of this country, and since Latinos suffer from a high unemployment rate, this figure can raise the overall unemployment rate in those states with large Latino populations. This is especially dangerous because high Latino unemployment rates means more poverty, more people losing their homes, more people unable to earn money to feed their families, and more people becoming destitute and homeless. To put it mildly, this is very dangerous for the whole U.S. economy. If the Latino unemployment rate remains officially high (it is definitely higher unofficially), then it will drag the rest of the economy down.
One important thing that any future president must keep in mind is that Latinos will become a larger percentage of the U.S. population. If an ever growing number of Latinos remain unemployed or in dire poverty, then it will be a drag on the whole American economy and society. In order to lower unemployment, we must as a nation also lower unemployment among our racial and ethnic minorities. They must be included in the economic growth of this nation for this nation to have a future.
The Latest Latino Unemployment Rate
By: Daniel Nardini
Why is this a serious problem? This main reason is obvious—Latinos constitute the largest ethnic group in the United States. If unemployment affects Latinos on such a major scale, then it will affect the overall unemployment rate. Only the Native Americans suffer from a higher unemployment rate (16 percent). Latinos are spread over a wide area of this country, and since Latinos suffer from a high unemployment rate, this figure can raise the overall unemployment rate in those states with large Latino populations. This is especially dangerous because high Latino unemployment rates means more poverty, more people losing their homes, more people unable to earn money to feed their families, and more people becoming destitute and homeless. To put it mildly, this is very dangerous for the whole U.S. economy. If the Latino unemployment rate remains officially high (it is definitely higher unofficially), then it will drag the rest of the economy down.
One important thing that any future president must keep in mind is that Latinos will become a larger percentage of the U.S. population. If an ever growing number of Latinos remain unemployed or in dire poverty, then it will be a drag on the whole American economy and society. In order to lower unemployment, we must as a nation also lower unemployment among our racial and ethnic minorities. They must be included in the economic growth of this nation for this nation to have a future.