Latinos broadly agree that the U.S. immigration system needs an overhaul, with large shares saying it requires major changes (53%) or needs to be completely rebuilt (29%). Only 17% say the immigration system needs no or only minor changes, according to a new national Pew Research Center survey of Hispanic adults conducted in March.
A majority of Latino immigrants and those born in the U.S. share the view that the country’s immigration system needs fixing, and this sentiment extends across all ages and education levels. Latinos’ views on a variety of issues often break clearly along party lines, but Democrats and Republicans generally agree on the need for substantial changes to the immigration system. At least three-quarters of Latinos in both political parties say the immigration system needs major changes or a total rebuild, though Democrats and Republicans prioritize different immigration policy goals.
As more states, including Virginia and New York, continue to legalize marijuana, an overwhelming share of U.S. adults (91%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use (60%) or that it should be legal for medical use only (31%). Fewer than one-in-ten (8%) say marijuana should not be legal for use by adults.
The new survey, conducted by Pew Research Center from April 5-11, 2021, comes as congressional Democrats consider legislation that would decriminalize marijuana nationally. Views of marijuana legalization have changed very little since 2019.
At a time when the labor movement in the United States has been facing formidable challenges, majorities of Americans see the long-term decline in the share of workers represented by unions as a bad thing for both the country and working people in the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted April 5-11.
In the survey, 56% say the large reduction over the past several decades in the percentage of workers who are represented by unions has been “somewhat” or “very” bad for the country, while 60% say this has been bad for working people. The survey was largely fielded before the vote by workers in an Amazon warehouse in Alabama against forming a union was tabulated and reported.
The European Union and the United States have both been deeply affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The two contribute equally to the world economy, each accounting for about 16% of global output. A key difference is that the EU is home to about 100 million more people than the U.S. But Americans have lost significantly more jobs than their EU counterparts during the COVID-19 downturn.
Roughly 9.6 million U.S. workers (ages 16 to 64) lost their jobs, based on averages of the first three quarters of 2019 and the first three quarters of 2020. In contrast, only about 2.6 million workers in the EU (ages 15 to 64) lost their jobs over this period, despite having a larger population. Young adults in both regions were more likely to lose jobs during the pandemic, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. government and Eurostat data.
The STEM workforce (science, technology, engineering and math) has grown rapidly in recent decades. An updated analysis by the Bureau of Labor Statistics since the coronavirus outbreak began projects strong growth for many STEM occupations in the United States, particularly epidemiologists, medical scientists, biochemists and biophysicists, and biological technicians, among others.
But Black and Hispanic workers remain underrepresented in STEM jobs compared with their share of the U.S. workforce, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. government data. The representation of women varies significantly across the job clusters that make up the STEM workforce: In health-related jobs, women are overrepresented compared with their 47% share of the overall workforce, while they remain starkly underrepresented in computing and engineering jobs.
A store in Miami announces job openings on March 5, 2021. Despite recent job gains, U.S. employment in February 2021 was 8.5 million less than in February 2020. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The coronavirus outbreak that began in February 2020 sent shock waves through the U.S. labor market, pushing the unemployment rate to near record highs and causing millions to leave the workforce. A year later, a full recovery for the labor market appears distant. Employment in February 2021 was 8.5 million less than in February 2020, a loss that could take more than three years to recoup assuming job creation proceeds at roughly the same monthly rate as it did from 2018 to 2019. But a faster recovery is possible if the job gains seen in March 2021 are sustained in the coming months.
As it rippled through the economy, the COVID-19 downturn affected some Americans more than others. Unemployment climbed more sharply among women than men, a reversal from the trend in the Great Recession. Young adults, those with less education, Hispanic women and immigrants also experienced greater job losses. Unpartnered mothers saw a bigger drop in the share at work than other parents, and low-wage workers saw a particularly sharp decrease in employment.
Here are six facts about how the COVID-19 recession is affecting labor force participation and unemployment among American workers a year after its onset.
Border Patrol apprehensions of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border are on the rise again. Although the majority of people attempting to enter the United States illegally are stopped, this trend could foreshadow an increase in the U.S. unauthorized immigrant population after years of relative stability. Yet the activity at the southwestern U.S. border is only one part of the overall story of unauthorized immigration, as a growing share of this population came from regions other than Mexico or Central America and entered the U.S. legally but overstayed their visas.
The unauthorized immigrant population is always changing and churning. The total number in the country can remain stable or decline even as new immigrants enter illegally or overstay a visa, because some voluntarily leave the country, are deported, die or become lawful residents. In short, the dynamic nature and pace of migration patterns has resulted in an unauthorized immigrant population whose size and composition has ebbed and flowed significantly over the past 30 years.
Here are key facts about this population and its dynamics.
Asia appears to be top of mind for the Biden administration when it comes to foreign policy. Japan and South Korea were the first two international destinations of Cabinet officials after Joe Biden’s inauguration as U.S. president. Looking to coordinate in the face of China’s efforts to assert itself in the region, the administration initiated a first-of-its-kind “Quad” summit with the leaders of Australia, India and Japan. The United States also held a high-level, in-person meeting with key Chinese officials in mid-March.
As Americans eye the Asia-Pacific region, they see a mix of friends and some foes, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted Feb. 1-7, 2021. Asked to rate their feelings toward four countries in the region on a “feeling thermometer,” where a 0 indicates the coldest and most negative rating possible, 50 indicates a neutral rating, and 100 indicates the warmest and most positive rating possible, Americans generally have warm feelings toward Japan. They give the country an average rating of 59 – largely unchanged since 2018, when the country had an average rating of 61. India receives a more neutral rating of 48 – also largely unchanged from its average rating of 51 in 2018.
Asian Americans recorded the fastest population growth rate among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States between 2000 and 2019. The Asian population in the U.S. grew 81% during that span, from roughly 10.5 million to a record 18.9 million, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, the last before 2020 census figures are released. Furthermore, by 2060, the number of U.S. Asians is projected to rise to 35.8 million, more than triple their 2000 population.
Hispanics saw the second-fastest population growth between 2000 and 2019, followed by Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) at 70% and 61%, respectively. The nation’s Black population also grew during this period, albeit at a slower rate of 20%. There was virtually no change in the White population.
The 2016 and 2020 election cycles weren’t the best of times for public opinion polls. In 2016, many preelection surveys underestimated support for Donald Trump in key states. And last year, most polls overstated Joe Biden’s lead over Trump in the national vote, along with several critical states. In response, many polling organizations, including the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), the survey research field’s major professional group, have taken close looks at how election surveys are designed, administered and analyzed.
Pew Research Center is no exception. Today, the Center releases the second of two reports on what the 2020 election means for different aspects of its survey methodology. The first, released in March, examined how the sorts of errors that led most polls to understate Trump’s support might or might not affect non-election polls – especially the issue-focused surveys that are the Center’s bread and butter. Today’s report looks at what we’ve learned about the American Trends Panel (ATP) – the Center’s online survey panel of more than 10,000 randomly selected U.S. adults – how well it represents the entire U.S. population, and how it could be improved.
