New research: Latinas contribute over $1.3 trillion to the U.S. economy

Negocios Now

Latinas contribute over $1.3 trillion to the U.S. economy, nearly the same amount as the state of Florida, according to an analysis funded by Bank of America, conducted by professors from California Lutheran University (CLU) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The research found that in 2021, Latina women contributed this amount to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to $661 billion in 2010, with a growth rate that nearly triples that of other races and ethnicities over the same period.

The amount Latinas contribute to the economy is equivalent to Florida’s GDP, which is only surpassed by those of California, Texas, and New York. However, the analysis acknowledges that they experience the largest wage gap of all labor groups, which has been stagnant for 20 years.

“Latinas are engines of economic vitality in the United States and bring life to the American economy,” said Matthew Fienup, an economist and director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University, and one of the authors, in the report.

According to the analysis, the increase in economic production and the growth of the Latina labor force, which is nine times faster than that of other racial groups, is translating into higher incomes and economic mobility for them.

“Latinas outperform their ethnic and gender peers in key economic measures, including record levels of labor force participation, educational achievements, and income growth,” Fienup adds. Despite the disadvantages they still face compared to other groups, “the wage gap is closing.”

There are marked advances among these women, despite having less access to capital. “They outperform other groups in investments towards business creation and homeownership. Also, in occupying managerial positions and in higher-income sectors,” he says.

Several factors explain the rapid economic growth of Latinas, including generational shifts and greater professional preparation, highlights specialist David Hayes Bautista, co-author of the report and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA’s School of Medicine.

“Older immigrant Latinas are beginning to retire, but their U.S.-born daughters and granddaughters are taking their place,” he says. “These descendants of immigrants are combining their elders’ selfless work ethic with rapid growth in human capital.”

Today’s Latina workers are entering the labor market “as professionals, functionally bilingual, with an educational level far superior to that of their predecessors, creating a ripple effect,” notes the study titled “Bringing Life to the Economy” by CLU and UCLA.