Wages increase for foreign-born Hispanics

Foreign-born Hispanic workers are earning more, with a smaller share of those workers clustered in low-paying jobs than 10 years ago.

A study by the Pew Hispanic Center revealed the proportion of foreign-born Latino workers in the lowest group of the wage distribution decreased 6 percent, from 42 percent to 36 percent. And many have moved into the middle range of the wage distribution.

Newly arrived Latino workers were less likely to be low-wage earners in 2005 compared to 1995, in part because they were older, better educated and more likely to be employed in construction, the center reported. However, many foreign-born Latinos remain low-wage earners. Even though the share of Latino workers at the low end decreased, this population grew by 1.2 million between 1995 and 2005.

The share of foreign-born workers in the labor force grew from 7 percent in 1980 to 15 percent in 2005. Latinos, who also represent the largest share of foreign-born workers, accounted for 13 percent of the overall labor force in 2005, up from 6 percent in 1980.

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For more: Pew Hispanic Center, (202) 419-3600; http://pewhispanic.org.