Ignore these data, and free-market economic forces will crush you

An increasingly diverse marketplace. Have you noticed? As of Opening Day 2005, 204 players born in Latin American  countries were on Major League Baseball rosters, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the overall MLB player base. The Dominican Republic had 91 players, followed by Venezuela with 46 and Puerto Rico with 34.

 latinobaseball.com, 2004

 

 Think about it; compare your customers or clients of today with thoseyou had five years ago and then try to guess what the future looks like. As you read on, think about the implications for you and your company, and how you conduct your business.

 

 The U.S. Census Bureau reported in the year 2000, Hispanics comprised about 12.6 percent of the population; in 2050 they predict they will comprise about 24.4 percent of the population . The population of non-Latino whites, presently 75% of all Americans, will shrink to a bare majority by 2050. The other high growth group is people over age 55. The baby boom generation is getting older.

 

What do these demographics mean

for my company (for my customer market)?

purchasing power

 

·       US Hispanics/Latinos had a purchasing power of $580 billion in 2002.

·       African-American purchasing power is approaching $646 billion per year.

·       Asian-Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S., increasing at rates eight times as fast as the general population.

·       The combined race and ethnic minority population will grow from 79 million in 2000 to 178 million in 2045.” US Department of Commerce, September 2000

·       In Census 2000, 4.3 million people, or 1.5 percent of the population, reported that they were American Indian and Alaska Native.

· The population of US Hispanics is expected to grow to 55.2 million by the year 2020.

Workforce 2000 - Hudson Institute;

Opportunity 2000, U.S. D.O.L.

·  “Hispanic buying power...will jump 357 percent, while that of blacks will increase 189 percent from 1990 to 2008...continuing the upward mobility of minorities in the United States. “

          The Washington Times

      8/2003

  

“America’s population will increase fifty percent over the next fifty years, with almost ninety percent of that increase in the minority community. Both Fortune 1000 and minority businesses need to pay attention to the consumer purchasing power that will result from that growth…”

 

- Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Commerce, September 2000

 

 

U.S. Census Bureau Figures

2005 U.S. population

total 298 million:

White………………………………………..75%

Black……………………………………… .12.3%

Latino……………………………………….12.5%

Asian………………………………………...3.6%.

 

What do these demographics mean for my company (for my employees and hiring and retention of talent)

 

Gender Demographics

  “There are 9.1 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. employing over 27.5 million people and generating over $3.6 trillion in sales, according to the National Foundation for Women Business Owners (NFWBO)...Today, women make up half of the world's resources”

                 Networking magazine, March 2000

·       There are more women running FORTUNE 500 companies this year than there were last year. Currently, 11 FORTUNE 500 companies are run by women* (up from 9 last year), and a total of 20 FORTUNE 1000 companies have women in the top job (up from 19).”

                             CNNMoney, 4/17/2006

·       Overall, the number of minority women-owned firms increased by 32% between 1997 and 2002 - four times faster than all U.S. firms and over twice the rate of all women-owned firms.

     Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives, 2002

·       In 2008, women will make up about 48 percent of the   

      labor force and men 52 percent.”

     Occupational Outlook Quarterly Winter 1999/2000.

 

·       Women, minorities, and immigrants make up the majority of the net new entrants in the workplace. California and fifty of the largest U.S. cities no longer have a clear majority of any single race or ethnic group.

·       Pregnancy discrimination claims in the United States increased 37 percent from 1992 to 2003, even as the national birth rate dropped 9 percent. More than 70 million women are in the work force today, and almost 73 percent of them have children, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

·       Employed women who provide half or more of their household’s total income:

-    55% of all working women

-    48% of all women in a married couple

-    91% of all women who are separated, divorced or widowed

-    90% of women in a single-parent household

Louis Haris & Associates; Families and

Work Institution; Whirlpool Foundation

Other demographic trends you should understand and take into consideration:

 

Skills gap continues to widen

 

·          The percentage of the working-age population (ages 25 to 64) with a bachelor’s degree or higher has increased for all ethnic groups, but the gaps between the groups has widened.

             U.S. Census Bureau, 2000

 

The Disabled

 

·          In 2002, 51.2 million people (18.1 percent of the population) had some level of disability and 32.5 million (11.5 percent of the population) had a severe disability…the majority of people with disabilities were female, 28.2 million (19.5 percent of all females), while 23.0 million were male (16.7 percent of all males

Equal Opportunity Publications

 

 

Immigrant Mythology

 Out of respect for my immigrant parents, Antonio and Irma Velásquez, I present this fact sheet. In my workshops, many people confront me and their peers with their misperceptions or stereotypes concerning immigrants to the U.S.

Did you know that...

·          Most immigrants - over 85% - come to the U.S. legally.

·          Most legal immigrants, about 8 out of 11, come to join close family members.

·          As of 2005, about 11.7% of the U.S. population are foreign-born. By comparison, from 1870 to 1920, the foreign-born made up approximately 15% of the total population.

·          A little more than 2 million immigrants arrive in the U.S. each year. 

·          53,813 people in 2005 were admitted to the United States as refugees. Leading countries included: Somalia, Laos, and Cuba.- Office of Immigration Statistics

 

 

 

Where do immigrants come from?

 

Top 10 Countries Foreign Born Population