AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Latino population in Central Texas continues to grow, and yet a new report showed they still face barriers to economic growth.
Advancing Latino Futures, a new report by the Hispanic Impact Fund, showed both progress and shortfalls in economic mobility for Latinos in the area.
The report focused on four areas:
- Early childhood education
- Health and wellness
- Job skills and entrepreneurship
- Leadership development
It said Latinos led the population growth in Central Texas between 2012 and 2022. However, Lila Valencia, the city of Austin’s demographer, said the growth in Austin is a little bit slower for Latinos.
“When you look into the counties within the metro area, that’s where you really see some of the huge contributions of the Latino population, especially in counties like Bastrop and Caldwell,” Valencia said.
Valencia said this information can better help the city understand where people are moving and why.
“We know that there are issues such as affordability,” Valencia said. “We really want to understand and look at those numbers to see how we can address some of those challenges and target specific services and programs to help Latinos stay in their communities.”
Job skills and entrepreneurship
When it comes to jobs, the report showed Latinos made up about a third of the workforce in Central Texas. Yet, the report said many Latinos are “confined to minimal incomes.”
“We may have jobs, but are they high wage jobs? Are they good quality jobs?” asked Alex Cantu, Chair of the Hispanic Impact Fund’s Steering Committee. “Within our job skills and entrepreneurship, we want to help folks get high wage, high demand jobs.”
Cantu said this report helps guide their grant making decision. They can use this data to define focus areas for where they put funds.
“We’re still focusing on early childhood education, health and wellness, job skills and entrepreneurship and our newest focus areas, leadership development,” Cantu said.
The report highlighted some progress within the Latino community as well.
It said there’s been a steady increase in Latinos earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees over the last 10 years. The report also said Latino homeownership is up since 2021.
When it comes to areas for improvement, the report said the percentage of Latinos uninsured remains high. It suggested there is an “opportunity to increase healthcare enrollment efforts.”
For a look at the full report click here.
