Amid intense fight over immigration, group issues report on U.S. Hispanic economic power
MIAMI BEACH — If U.S. Hispanics were their own country, they would have the fifth-largest economy on the planet, according to a report released Wednesday morning.
The study produced by Arizona State University and backed by Wells Fargo and the Latin Donor Initiative, a think tank, compiled and diced data on Latinos' gross domestic product, income and purchasing power. It is the sixth yearly installment of the "LDC U.S. Latino GDP report," and the numbers are staggering.
The GDP of Hispanics in America, as of the most recent available data for 2021, surpassed $3.2 trillion. That figure ranks behind the overall U.S. economy, China, Japan and Germany but ahead of India, Great Britain and every other nation. The drivers are workforce participation and demographic growth. Florida ranks fourth in the U.S. for Latino economic power behind California, Texas and New York, in that order.
"If you want to look for growth, look here," said Sol Trujillo, chairman of the Latino Donor Initiative, of the U.S. Latino market.
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The report, released during the annual L'ATTITUDES Hispanic business, commerce and financial conference in Miami Beach, offers a very different view of the political debate over immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border roiling the country. Researchers on the project said the bigger implications are for U.S. businesses and economic interests.
Florida political leaders have been at the forefront of some of the most divisive policies, including the shipping of people seeking refuge or immigration from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Washington, D.C. and California. In May, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans to send 1,100 Florida National Guard personnel to the Mexican border.
In addition, Florida lawmakers passed an immigration law this spring that drew condemnation from the Washington-based League of United Latin American Citizens, known as LULAC. The organization warned Latinos traveling in Florida with family members "to be cautious if they encounter law enforcement."
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Trujillo said the conference and report are aimed at revealing a story that is often not told. He said he wants U.S. businesses — large, medium and small — to understand the opportunities, profits and markets that exist within the country's Hispanic communities.
"That's why we do this event," he said. "We want people to understand. When you come to L'ATTITUDES you'll see the family photo of Latinos."
Overall, people who are first-generation immigrants from the non-English speaking Americas, or whose ethnic lineage stems from the region, now account for 18.8% of the U.S. population, or just over 62 million people. They are by far the fastest-growing population segment in the country, accounting for about half of 23 million additional Americans in the United States over the past decade.
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Their purchasing power tops $3 trillion, and their collective income stands at $2.5 trillion. "Consumption and purchasing power also saw impressive growth rates, effectively 2.1-to-2.4 times faster than non-Latino counterparts," according to the report.
"If you look at these figures, the Latino cohort is certainly powering the U.S. economy," said Jose A. Jurado, an ASU researcher and a co-author of the report.
Trujillo added that the role of the Latino workforce was particularly pivotal in the COVID era, calling the Hispanic laborers manning production lines and delivering goods the "true patriots of the pandemic."
That sentiment was echoed in the report in bigger-picture terms.
"The U.S. Latino cohort continues to disproportionately contribute to our country's economy in various capacities as consumers, producers, and business leaders," it said.
U.S. should view Hispanic market as an opportunity, rather than fear it
Within that context, Trujillo said he welcomes a conversation, if not a debate, on immigration. He notes Hispanics, including immigrants, are a major sector of the American workforce. With U.S. population growth slowing, there is a need to fill open jobs, 10 million across the country, with immigrant labor, he added.
"We have to talk about immigration," Trujillo said. "This economy cannot grow into the next decade without a labor force growth rate. That's stark reality. I don't care if you're Donald Trump or Joe Biden."
The data in the report, Trujillo added, is critical to debunking negative "mythologies" about the U.S. Latino population. Those include misperceptions that "everyone coming from the Americas are uneducated" and "go on welfare" or are a part of drug cartels to do "dastardly things" or are "just lazy," he said.
"The answer to all the above is, 'Let me show you some data,'" Trujillo said. "The most productive cohort in America is the Latino cohort. Because the people that come from the south, they come here to seek a better life and they come here to work. And if they're not making enough money, they'll get a second job. And if they're still not making enough money they'll get a third job."
Businesses in Florida should not fear immigrants, but a labor shortage
Trujillo said U.S. businesses should fear stagnation, or having opportunities constrained, because of a lack of workers. He pointed to reports in Florida that Latino workers are leaving the state in light of the immigration law passed last spring, which Trujillo called "una pendejada," a stupidity.
While Florida's political leaders hail the post-pandemic growth, as businesses and residents from other states relocate here, that surge will hit headwinds if the labor force to support it is not available. In Palm Beach County, for example, the number of open jobs has far unfailingly outpaced the number of unemployed people looking for work on a month-to-month basis for the past two years.
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"If you have those kind of policies, they are going to dramatically affect growth," he said. "You cannot grow if you don't have a labor force."
In the Sunshine State, the report said Latino workers account for almost 30% of the workforce. Their gross domestic income (GDI) of $239 billion accounts for just under 20% of the state's GDI.
The state's controversial policies relating to immigration, race and the LGBTQ+ community have spurred calls for boycotts. The African-American collegiate fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha is among those that have said they will not hold conventions in Florida. Despite urging that L'ATTITUDES also boycott Florida, Trujillo said he chose to stick with plans to hold this year's event at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach.
In part, he said he did so because music mogul Emilio Estefan advocated for the conference to be held here this year. And partly, Trujillo said, "because I never walk away from confronting what doesn't make sense."
Plus, he said, time and trends are on the side of those who see the data, understand it, disseminate it and seek to make pragmatic decisions based on the numbers.
"All that data is going to overwhelm the people that think their policies make sense because they are choking the state, they are choking their cities and counties," he said. "If you are running a business in Florida and you can't hire workers what are you going to tell the guy that says, 'Why don't you re-elect me'?"
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Report: U.S. Latino GDP power among top five global economies
