Labor Force
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A greater share of native-born Hispanic women than immigrant Hispanic women participate in the labor force.
- The majority of Hispanic women participate in the labor force; that is, they are either employed or actively seeking employment. Fully 59% of Hispanic women participate in the labor force, compared with 61% of non-Hispanic women.
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A greater share of native-born Hispanic women than immigrant Hispanic women participate in the labor force, 64% compared with 54% for immigrants.
- Native-born Hispanic women are more likely than immigrant Hispanic women to be employed, either full time or part time. Six-in-ten (61%) native-born Hispanic women are employed as compared with five-in-ten (51%) immigrant Hispanic women.
- Immigrant Hispanic women from Mexico are the least likely of all Hispanic immigrant women to be employed. Less than half (46%) of immigrant Hispanic women from Mexico are employed, compared with 52% of immigrant Hispanic women from the Caribbean, 61% from South America and 63% from Central America.
Weekly Earnings
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Hispanic women employed full time earn lower median weekly wages than non-Hispanic women.
- Median weekly earnings for Hispanic women who are employed full-time are $460 per week. The median weekly earnings of non-Hispanic women, $615, are 34% higher.
- Native-born Hispanic women earn more than immigrant Hispanic women. Among Hispanic women who are employed full time, the median weekly earnings of thenative born are 35% greatethan those of immigrant Hispanic women, $540 versus $400.
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Immigrant Hispanic women from Mexico have the lowest median weekly earnings of all immigrant Hispanic women. Immigrant Hispanic women from Mexico earn 9% less than immigrant Hispanic women from Central America, 15% less than those from the Caribbean, and 31% less than those from South America.
Household Income in 2006
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Hispanic women are more likely to live in lower income households and less likely to reside in upper income households than non-Hispanic women.
- Hispanic women are much more likely than non-Hispanic women to live in a lower-income household53% compared with 34%.
- Among Hispanic women, the majority of the native born are members of the middle and upper income groups (55%) while the majority of immigrants are members of the lower income group (61%).
Definition of Income Groups
In this section, household incomes are adjusted for the number of people in a household and are presented for a household size of three (see Section II Appendix of Pew Social and Demographic Trends, “Inside the Middle Class: Bad Times Hit the Good Life” (April 2008) for a more detailed explanation of adjusted household income and income group assignments). In 2006, the median household income scaled to represent a three-person household was $32,046. By our definition, a woman is considered middle income if she lives in a household with an annual income that falls within 75% to 150% of the median household income. In 2006, that income range for a three-person household was $24,035 to $48,069. A woman whose median household income is above that range is considered in the upper income group; a woman whose household income is below that range is in the lower income group.
Poverty4
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Hispanic women are nearly twice as likely as non-Hispanic women to live in poverty.
- Hispanic women are nearly twice as likely as non-Hispanic women to live in poverty. One-in-five (20%) Hispanic women live in poverty, compared with one-in-ten (11%) of non-Hispanic women.
- Immigrant Hispanic women are slightly more likely than native-born Hispanic women to live in poverty, 22% versus 18%.
Occupation
Hispanic women are much more likely than non-Hispanic women to be employed in blue-collar occupations.
- Hispanic women are more likely than non-Hispanic women to be employed in blue-collar occupations such as building, grounds cleaning and maintenance (10% versus 2%); food preparation and serving-related jobs (9% versus 6%); production (8% versus 4%); and personal care and service occupations (7% versus 5%).
- The most common occupations held by Hispanic women are in office and administrative support. One-in-five (21%) employed Hispanic women are in those occupations, a similar share as for non-Hispanic women (22%).
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Hispanic women account for 12% of the employed female population in the United States. However, they account for 42% of women employed in farming, fishing and forestry occupations; 37% of women in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations; and 23% of women in production occupations.
- The majority of Hispanic women employed in occupations listed in Table 4 are immigrants. Three-quarters or more of the Hispanic women employed in farming, fishing and forestry; building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; production; and construction and extraction occupations were foreign-born.
Industry
Hispanic women are overrepresented in industries with relatively more blue-collar jobs.
- Hispanic women are more likely than non-Hispanic women to work in the following industries: eating, drinking and lodging services (11% versus 6%); personal and laundry services/private household services (6% versus 3%); and nondurable goods manufacturing (5% versus 3%).
- More Hispanic women work in the wholesale/retail trade industry than any other industry. One-in-seven (15%) Hispanic women work in the wholesale/retail trade industry, a similar share as for non-Hispanic women (14%).
- Immigrant Hispanic women are represented to a much larger degree than native-born Hispanic women in agricultural, manufacturing and service-oriented industries. Two-thirds or more of the Hispanic women who work in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining; nondurable goods manufacturing; personal and laundry services/private household services; and eating, drinking and lodging services industries are immigrants.