First-ever U.S. Latina GDP Report Reveals Latinas Generate $1.3 trillion in GDP

By Gloria Romano-Barrera

According to recent data from the U.S. Latina GDP Report, funded by Bank of America, the GDP (gross domestic product) contributed by Latinas in the United States increased by over 50 percent in just 10 years to $1.3 trillion in 2021. The U.S. Latina GDP Report is the first of its kind analysis of the significant and rapidly growing economic contribution of the nation's Latina population. According to the report, which was led by professors David Hayes-Bautista, Ph.D., of UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, and Matthew Fienup, Ph.D., of California Lutheran University, the GDP of Latin Americans increased at a rate that was 2.7 times faster than that of non-Hispanics between 2010 and 2021. Currently, the GDP of Latin America surpasses the total economy of the state of Florida.

“This exciting body of work captures the positive growth and contributions that U.S. Latinas from multiple generations have been making to the U.S. economy, and confirms that Latinas are a driving force,” shares Jennifer Auerbach-Rodriguez, Strategic Growth Markets & Client Development Executive, Merrill Wealth Management. “We see similar momentum reflected in our overall business as well as many of the same key drivers found in our own research.”

Mastercard believes a strong digital presence is more critical than ever for everyone’s business. With 5 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States contributing more than $800 billion to the American economy annually, Mastercard believes this is the time to access to financial tools, access to ways of making their businesseThis information directly builds upon the six yearly U.S. Latino GDP Reports, eight State and twelve Metro Area Latino GDP Reports that have been published since 2018. These studies demonstrate that Latinos are key contributors to economic growth and a vital source of resilience for the larger U.S. economy by utilizing publicly available data from significant U.S. agencies.

Without a doubt, Latinas will continue to make significant economic contributions, and the advancement and empowerment of Latinas will always be significant to LATINA Style's mission.

 

The U.S. Latina GDP Report's findings include the following:

Economic Output

· The total economic output of U.S. Latinas is $1.3 trillion in 2021, up from $661 billion in 2010, and larger than the economies of all other states except California, Texas and New York.

· From 2010 to 2021 real U.S. Latina GDP increased a total of 51.1% compared to only 18.8% for non-Hispanic GDP. In other words, the GDP of U.S. Latinas is growing 2.7 times faster.  

Labor Force Participation

  • From 2010 to 2021, the number of Hispanic females in the U.S. labor force grew a total of 32.9% compared to only 2.7 percent for non-Hispanic females. Despite being just 9.3% of the U.S. population, Latinas are responsible for 30.2% of the growth of the U.S. labor force since 2010.

  • From 2000 to 2021, the Latina labor force participation rate increased 7.5 percentage points, while the rate for non-Hispanic females was flat. U.S. Latinas, who started the century with a participation rate a full 5.0 percentage points lower, are now 2.5 percentage points more likely to be actively working than their non-Hispanic female counterparts.

Educational Attainment

  • The number of Latinas with a bachelor’s degree or higher education increased 103% between 2010 and 2021, while the number of highly educated non-Hispanic females increased only 38.3%. Latina educational attainment is growing 2.7 times faster than that of non-Hispanic females.

Real Income

  • From 2010 to 2021, the real incomes of U.S. Latinas grew a total of 46.0 percent compared to only 18.5 percent for non-Hispanic females. In other words, Latina income growth is 2.5 times that of their non-Hispanic female counterparts.

To download the full report visit:  www.LatinaGDP.us

The U.S. Latina GDP Report is produced by the Latino GDP Project, a project of Community Partners (www.CommunityPartners.org) with the Center for Economic Research & Forecasting at California Lutheran University (www.clucerf.org) and the Center for the Study of Latino Health & Culture at UCLA (www.uclahealth.org/ceslac). For questions about the report, please contact: Matthew Fienup, Chief Economist (mfienup@callutheran.edu); and David Hayes-Bautista, Chief Demographer (dhayesb@ucla.edu). 

LATINA Style Magazine 2024