Study: Asians & Latinos Making Greater Jobs Gains In Recovery

By Adrian Florido
March 21, 2012

SAN DIEGO -- A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that as the economy recovers, Asians and Latinos are gaining work faster than other ethnic groups.

Since 2009, Asian employment grew by 6.8 percent and Latino employment by 6.5 percent - faster than the growth for whites and blacks.

That’s partly because the population of working-age Asians and Latinos has grown fastest.

The Pew study found the total number of Asians and Latinos working today is larger than before the Great Recession.

But again, that’s mostly because the population has grown, and not because those communities have made full recoveries.

Employment rates for all ethnic groups are still much lower than they were five years ago, before the economic downturn.

The shortfall between pre-recession employment rates and current rates is 12 percent for blacks, followed by whites at 7 percent, Latinos at 6 percent, and Asians at 5 percent.