colette shopping bag (Photo credit: Karl Hab)
Hispanics are still the fastest growing population in the U.S., and their numbers are predicted to soar another 167 percent by 2050. This growth has impacted several key demographic characteristics that are shaping the Latino consumer segment as an economic powerhouse, including higher education attainment, increased workforce presence, higher earnings, and surging buying power currently in the neighborhood of $1.2 trillion.
At 52 million strong and growing, Hispanics are also the largest minority group on U.S. college campuses at 16.5 percent, and the number of Latinos with a bachelor’s degree or higher has nearly doubled in the last 10 years. More education means more jobs and higher salaries. Hispanics and Asians have seen the strongest post-recession job growth, and now Hispanics with average household earnings of $71,000 and a median age of 35 are the fastest growing segment of the overall Hispanic population. This is a key factor behind the massive increase in buying power which puts the U.S. Hispanic market among the top 20 economies in the world.
Even while representing only 17 percent of the population, Hispanics are a formidable spending machine that is already bolstering the economy in a number of categories. But their unique role in key industries with boom opportunities substantial enough to get the nation beyond this recession is why they will likely be the driving force behind real economic recovery.