In the United States, there are currently 42 million young people (ages 15 to 24), and they account for 13% of the country's total population.
For the United Nations, a young person is someone between the ages of 15 and 24; the United States has adopted this same definition, but not Mexico; in Mexico, young people are those aged 12 to 29.
Be that as it may, young people are a powerful group whose main advantage is precisely their youth and the energy they have to enter the workforce—whether by joining existing companies, starting their own businesses, or pursuing countless projects made possible by new technologies. It is safe to say that young people are the future of a country, and young Latinos are the future of the United States.
In the United States, there are currently 42 million young people (aged 15 to 24), and they represent 13% of the country’s total population. Just for reference, older adults, aged 60 and over, account for 24% of the population—that is, they make up nearly twice the size of the young population.
Among whites, African Americans, and Asians, only 1 in 10 are young, but among Latinos, the proportion is 2 in 10.
Thus, of the total number of young people in the country, a quarter are of Latino origin. Just 5 years ago, these young people represented less than a fifth of the total. This means that their numbers have been increasing, not because of immigration but because the number of Americans with Latino roots has grown—that is, they are the children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren of Latino immigrants.
Among these young Latinos, 84% were born in the United States, only 3% are naturalized citizens, 6% have legal permanent residence, and 7% are undocumented; however, of the latter group, 6 out of 10 arrived in the United States They were under 16 years old when they arrived in the U.S., meaning they fall into the category of Dreamers.
To date, 6 out of 10 young people of Latino origin have a high school diploma or higher, and among them, 24% have some college education and 10% have completed at least an undergraduate degree. In other words, they have completed their education or are currently pursuing it.
At least half of young Latinos are already working in fields as varied as business administration, finance, administrative support, agriculture, construction, and passenger transportation. Of those who work, at least one-third continue their studies—that is, they combine work with education. Young Latinos are putting an end to the stigma that has long plagued the community—the notion that Latinos hold only low-skilled, low-wage jobs.
On the other hand, among non-Hispanic whites, aging is prevalent and on the rise; currently, about one-third of whites are 60 years or older, while among Latinos, only one-tenth are that age.
The average age among whites is 43, among African Americans it is 37, among Asians it is 38, while among Latinos it is 31.
These data illustrate why we affirm that the United States possesses great wealth and a great treasure in
Latino youth. Because they are the ones who in the coming years will be fully incorporated into working life, many of them already work and pay taxes, benefiting the American economy, and in whom, without a doubt, much of the weight will fall to sustain the pension system, increasingly demanding of resources in the US. So, beyond the divisive discourses, which still prevail in some areas of the country, it is important to recognize that
Latino youth contribute and will contribute even more so that the United States remains the most important economy in the world.
* Arcelia Serrano Vargas is an economist, with postgraduate studies in Regional Development. She is currently a researcher and analyst at Mexa Institute.
Vargas, A. S. (2021, 16 July).
OPINION: Latino Youth, America’s Treasure – Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times in Spanish. https://www.latimes.com/espanol/eeuu/articulo/2021-07-16/juventud-latina-el-tesoro-de-estados-unidos-demografia
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