Communicating with Hispanics

Hispanic Heritage Month: Communication Strategies

Posted On September 13, 2020By TranspanishIn Latinos, Mulilingual Digital Marketing, Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers/ 2 No Comments

From September 15 to October 15, the United States marks National Hispanic Heritage Month to celebrate the achievements of the Hispanic community along with its history and culture. Initially introduced as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968, it was expanded into Hispanic Heritage Month in 1988, with the start date of September 15 being chosen because this was when the Hispanic countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua declared their independence in 1821. Mexico and Chile also declared their independence in September, on September 16 and 18 respectively. While the date was chosen due to these events, it celebrates Hispanic heritage of all backgrounds.

What Is the Significance of Hispanic Heritage Month?

Since its foundation, Hispanic Heritage Month has regularly featured everything from parades to presidential addresses to mark the occasion, and as the Hispanic community in the United States grows, it is looking to become an ever more important event.

At present, 60 million Hispanic people are living in the United States, some 20% of the country’s population, a figure that is predicted to grow to 111 million by 2060, having already become the largest minority group in the country. This celebration is an invaluable and increasingly unignorable opportunity for content creators and businesses alike to show their support for the community and win over loyal Hispanic customers – the most brand-loyal group in the United States.

Hispanic Americans, however, are a diverse group, with family backgrounds coming from all over the Hispanic world and there being vast differences between Cubans in Florida, Puerto Ricans in New York, and Mexicans in California. The Hispanic heritage of the United States goes far beyond immigration, with many states once also being part of Mexico or the Spanish Empire, and some cities being predominantly Spanish speaking, like Miami where 70% of the population are native Spanish speakers.

The influence of Hispanic heritage on the United States is undeniable yet is an often overlooked part of the country, something that is going to become harder to ignore for those looking to succeed in everything from marketing to politics in the future of the United States.

What Is the Difference Between Hispanic and Latino?

While the terms Hispanic and Latino are often used interchangeably in the United States, they actually have very different meanings. Latino refers to someone from Latin America, including both Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, due to them both being Latin-based languages. Meanwhile, Hispanic refers specifically to Spanish speakers.

While many often have a fixed view of what a Hispanic person looks like, the Hispanic community is incredibly diverse, including black and indigenous Hispanic people who are often overlooked in such definitions. They are both rather generalizing terms and a better approach still is to be aware of the unique cultures and heritage of each unique group.

What’s the Best Approach for Communication with the Hispanic Community?

The best approach for communicating with the Hispanic community is the same as for any group, which is to show respect and understanding. This means taking the time to show you understand them as a group and respecting the Spanish language and any traditions, while also being aware of the differences within the community. As such, it is best to use content that has been professionally translated and culturally adapted.

If machine translations are used, the use of which should be avoided, they should at least be proofread. Not doing so shows a disrespect that risks harming your relations and therefore your goals with the Hispanic community.

First, you should learn about the intricacies and issues in the Hispanic community, taking the time to research the group and plan what you want to say. Hiring someone to help out with this often-difficult process will have better results for both you and your consumers.

As part of content adaptation, it’s also worth adapting social media platforms for the Hispanic community, instead of using a mix of Spanish and English on the same platform and hoping that the poor-quality automatic translation tools will take care of the rest. Creating unique content will show respect for the community and that you value them as much as your English-speaking audience.

It’s not just about the language, it’s also about showing support and awareness in a way that some rival businesses may not, thus losing valuable customers. This is something Transpanish can help you out with, by providing natural and well-adapted content on social media platforms to ensure that you get the most engagement and success possible with your target community, and by providing you accurate Spanish translations for your documents and all types of texts.

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US Hispanics, COVID-19 and Spanish language barrier

The impact of the Spanish Language as a factor in COVID-19 among US Hispanics

Posted On July 2, 2020By TranspanishIn Latinos, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/ 2 1 Comment

The COVID-19 pandemic has shocked the world, leading to some half a million deaths worldwide (at the time of writing) and many more lives that are forever changed. In the course of its spread throughout the world, the virus has consistently shown to hit the most vulnerable hardest, whether that is due to the pandemic’s health or financial impacts.

Throughout the US, for example, the Hispanic community has found itself to be more affected than many in American society, leading some to question why this is the case. The answer is not simple and is one that is deeply rooted in the cultural and social conditions of the Hispanic community, American society, and the healthcare system.

Racial Disparities and Pre-Existing Health Conditions

To begin with, according to the CDC, American Indians, African Americans and Hispanics or Latinos are up to five times more likely to be hospitalized due to the novel coronavirus than non-Hispanic white Americans, highlighting the racial disparities in the US. One reason for this could be that these groups are typically poorer with less access to information due to language barriers. Another is that they often have higher rates of underlying health problems, such as Type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure, which means they may be more severely affected and have worse outcomes upon coronavirus infection.

Cultural Conditions

There are also cultural conditions that could lead to the imbalanced impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Hispanic community, such as having more of an emphasis on physical contact and having larger families living together, possibly with a grandparent, which could increase the chances of infection. Latinos are also more likely to be working in roles in places like meatpacking plants and warehouses where they cannot socially isolate as easily as white Americans, with four out of five Latinos being essential workers. In some states, they may also potentially be more likely to live in apartments with more contact with other individuals. Similar patterns have been seen among poorer and more vulnerable groups around the world.

The Language Barrier

Of course, one also has to remember that many Hispanics in the US do not speak English as a first language and, therefore, could be more likely to feel less informed about important national measures to prevent infection as well as national measures to provide financial relief. When this lower level of information, already proven to have negative health and social outcomes, is combined with the US healthcare system, it seems almost inevitable that many in these communities will be left behind. Further to this, in the US healthcare system where health insurance is key, vulnerable people such as some in poorer Hispanic communities may lack sufficient insurance and therefore lack sufficient healthcare coverage, leading to poorer health outcomes.

The impact of the pandemic goes beyond health impacts, with the impact on the global economy being hard to ignore. Many have lost their jobs while many industries such as the service industry have been devastated, meaning many vulnerable workers have now seen their income reduced drastically. In fact, while 60% of Americans have lost income due to the coronavirus, this figure is 90% among Spanish-speaking Hispanics. The industries in which many Hispanics work in the US have been severely affected and when this is combined with less access to information regarding financial support due to language barriers, the pre-existing divisions in American society are widened.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the most vulnerable and most privileged in society and shown very real consequences of this division, as well as the importance of information and reduced language and social barriers to overcoming these difficulties. Addressing many of the issues that adversely affect the Hispanic community may be difficult but increasing access to information in Spanish would go a long way to helping the most vulnerable before moving on to tackling the social divisions in the US.

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Transpanish continues at full operation during the COVID-19 pandemic. For translation, proofreading and editing services, please contact us for a free quote and advice. We offer discounts for new clients and nonprofit organizations.

Free Resource provided by Transpanish: English – Spanish – Portuguese COVID-19 Glossary.

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Spanish Marketing - Latinos

Marketing to Latinos through Social Media – Transpanish

Posted On December 9, 2019By TranspanishIn Languages, Latinos, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/ 5 4 Comments

In the early days of social media marketing, marketing strategists rarely used to target Latinos using social media or other forms of digital marketing. However, this has since changed and according to a recent article in Forbes, companies now need to be aware that on average, in the US at least, young Latinos are more likely to interact with companies on social media than the rest of the population and are very loyal to brands that use Spanish. Clearly, there is a good reason for brands to attract this growing and generally loyal target market.

According to eMarketer, while Hispanics in the US have a similar level of smartphone ownership compared to the general population, they spend 10.5 hours per week online on the devices on average compared to an average of 8.4 hours among other groups. They are also now more likely to use social networks via smartphone and are higher than average in their use of Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, while also watching more content and buying more products online than the average.

Meanwhile, another study revealed the shocking statistic that almost 50% of Hispanic millennials had used a brand hashtag or discussed a brand online compared with a figure of 17% for non-Hispanics, showing not only the huge size of the Hispanic market but also a very high level of engagement.

Facebook has also revealed that their platform is the most popular among Hispanics, with 71% of survey respondents saying that they used Facebook every day. In terms of Twitter, a study conducted in August 2018 found that Latinos make up 31% of the Twitter users in the US, only surpassed by Asians at 35%.

The Latino community is now, as can be seen, an incredibly important target market online and as eMarketer concludes, “Internet penetration among US Hispanics has mostly – though not entirely – caught up with that of the general US population, but their digital activities still stand out in several ways,” adding that “ad spending growth on US Hispanic media has outpaced that of total media in recent years and will likely do so for the foreseeable future.” [1]

So, how can marketers take advantage of Latinos’ growing presence on social media to promote their brands?

Marketers must realize that an effective social media campaign directed at the Latino segment will involve more than just a mere translation of the existing English-language campaign. Hispanics are eager to connect with content and engage in a dialog with their favorite brands, so companies should provide opportunities for consumers to interact bilingually or in their preferred language as it has been shown to be highly appreciated. In addition, they must consider how the English-language and Spanish-language pages can complement each other and create synergy, rather than just duplicating the message in another language, since many users will likely visit both pages if companies offer unique content.

Although Twitter offers a different format for customer engagement, the keys to successful corporate marketing on Twitter are to 1) jump in on existing conversations that are taking place within the Latino community to develop brand awareness and 2) get consumers to join in on the conversation about the company’s brand. Live chats on Twitter also provide sponsorship opportunities that may prove attractive to advertisers.

Are you ready to speak to your Spanish-speaking audience?

Producing great content in Spanish takes time and commitment. We can help you expand your reach and establish a  connection with an audience that speaks the second most widely spoken language in the world. If you’d like to find out more about our service, visit Multilingual Social Media.

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Hispandering

How US Politicians “Hispander” to the Latino Vote

Posted On June 4, 2019By TranspanishIn Latinos, Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers, Translations/  No Comments

The Hispanic population constitutes the largest minority group in the United States, if one counts the population as one ethnic group, and this is only forecast to increase. As such, the Spanish language is not only an increasingly important language in the US for the country’s corporate and cultural spheres but also its politics.

In fact, in the 2020 US elections, the Hispanic electorate (32 million) will overtake the African-American electorate (30 million) for the first time. In recognition of this community’s electoral importance, and in a bid to increase the size of their audience, many politicians try to court Hispanic votes through using the Spanish language in political materials and announcements. The problem? Well, some of them aren’t very good at it for a start.

There are many examples of mistranslations and a lack of cultural understanding, including everything from gender mistakes to direct translations that make little to no sense in Spanish. Amy Klobuchar, the senator of Minnesota, for example, referred to her mother on her website using the masculine rather than the feminine.

Even Julián Castro, the only Latino presidential candidate in the 2020 race so far, showed cultural misunderstanding by erroneously referring to the United States of America as “América” instead of “Estados Unidos”, with América being used in Spanish to refer to the entire continent. All these incidents and many more are subject to criticism and ridicule, likely being a result of using services like Google Translate.

Even when politicians do use Spanish correctly, they can still come across as pandering to the Hispanic population for their vote while ignoring them outside of the electioneering season, a phenomenon that’s come to be known as “hispandering”. Some politicians offer an unequal amount of content in Spanish to what they do in English, while other candidates have tried to pander to Hispanic voters on a cultural level. A famous example of this was when the Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign published an article called 7 ways Hillary Clinton is just like your abuela, which prompted backlash with the hashtag #NotMyAbuela.

This isn’t to say that politicians shouldn’t have a go at other languages to try and expand their appeal. From Jackie Kennedy to George W. Bush, the political class in the US has long taken an interest in the Spanish language, and this interest should indeed be regarded as positive.

However, there is a difference between, on the one hand, expressing a genuine interest in a group, with a desire to show you are listening to them and value their language and culture, and, on the other hand, patronizing them by using their language as a token gesture. It all comes down to attitude.

There is an argument that, as most Hispanic Americans speak English, the aim of this hispandering is just to show that they respect their culture in an environment that can be very hostile to Hispanic Americans and the Spanish language. But even if that is all that is intended, this message would be made all the more powerful through using professional translations and experts and making genuine attempts to understand this group rather than pander to them in a tokenistic manner.

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Translating Health Care Documents to Spanish

A Guide to Translating Health Care Materials into Spanish – Second Part

Posted On February 10, 2017By TranspanishIn Latinos, Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

In our last article, we discussed the benefits of translating health care materials into Spanish, and looked at some of the steps involved in the process. Once the decision has been made to translate the materials, the next step is to find a qualified translator. Here, we offer you a guide to recruiting qualified medical translators and to ensuring that the finished product is useable and fit for purpose.

Recruiting a qualified medical translator

Recruiting a qualified medical translator entails much more than finding someone who is bilingual. Although this is one of the necessary qualifications, a translator employed to translate health care materials must also possess considerable expertise and experience in the subject matter to be able to understand the source text.

A key decision is whether to employ a freelance medical translator or a translation agency. Although freelancers can be seen as a less expensive option, translation agencies offer a more comprehensive service, providing a whole team that will see a translation project through from start to finish. A project manager heads a team of translators and proofreaders, meaning that you save valuable time, which in effect saves you money.

Negotiating terms

After finding a qualified medical translator, terms need to be negotiated in regards to fees, completion dates and payment terms.

Spanish translators can charge in different ways, generally per word or per page. However, if the project is for a specific format, such as a pamphlet created in InDesign, translators may also quote a DTP fee. Where specialized knowledge and experienced is called for, higher costs should be expected.

Negotiations should be clear from the outset and should include that the translator will commit to staying with the project until completion. This should include proofreading and final revisions.

A further advantage of using a translation agency is that they usually offer discounts for large projects or for nonprofit organizations.

Development Phase

Throughout the development stage of a health care translation, close contact should be maintained between all parties, so that the translator can ask for clarification when needed. If the translation is a long-term project, possible reviews and updates should be specified in the quote.

Revisions

The revision stage can either be carried out by the translation agency, which will use other qualified medical translators within its team to review the document, or it can be carried out by the client. However, if you were to undertake the review process yourself, it is paramount that the reviewer is a Spanish native speaker and ideally has extensive experience in both translation and the medical topic in hand. Grammatical construction and usage, spelling and use of expressions should all be taken in consideration.

Final proofreading

If the translator or translation agency is not in charge of the Desktop Publishing task, the translator should be available to do a final proofreading of the text once it has been integrated into its final design format.

Although producing and translating health care materials into Spanish can be an investment in terms of both time and money, it is becoming an essential process in a country like the US which has a large Hispanic population. The benefits of the investment far outweigh the risks to patient health and the careers of health care providers.

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Hispanics in USA

Hispanics in the United States – Stats and Facts

Posted On September 20, 2016By TranspanishIn Latinos, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

56.6 million

According to U.S Census Bureau, on July 1 2015, Hispanics constituted 17.6 percent of the US nation’s total population, making people of Hispanic origin the nation´s largest ethnic or race minority. The Hispanic population grew by 2.2% percent, rising 1.2 million between July 1 2014 and July 1 2015. This increase accounts for almost half of the growth in the total population of the United States, which stood at 2.5 million for the same period.

By 2060, the US Census Bureau estimates that the Hispanic population in the US will stand at 119 million and constitute 28.6 percent of the total US nation’s population.

Source: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff16.html

Language Preference

In 2014, 58 percent of Spanish speakers and 57 percent of Hispanic Spanish speakers in the US were reported to speak English ‘very well’. As the Hispanic population has increased, so has the number of US residents who speak Spanish within the home, with an increase 126.3 percent in comparison to 1990.

Source: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff16.html

Hispanic Origins: 2014
Mexican 63.9
Guatemalan 2.4
Salvadoran 3.8
Cuban 3.7
Dominican 3.2
Puerto Rican 9.5
South American, Central American and other Hispanic or Latino origin – the remainder

Hispanic population in the US foreign-born 35 percent

Notes:
1) The “Central American” group includes people who reported “Costa Rican,” “Honduran,” “Nicaraguan,” “Panamanian,” Central American Indian groups, and “Canal Zone.”
2)  The “South American” group includes people who reported “Argentinean,” “Bolivian,” “Chilean,” “Colombian,” “Ecuadorian,” “Paraguayan,” “Peruvian,” “Uruguayan,” “Venezuelan,” South American Indian groups, and “South American.”
3) The “Other Hispanic” group includes people who reported “Spaniard,” as well as “Hispanic” or “Latino” and other general terms.
Source: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff16.html

Hispanic Population Figures in States and Counties: 2015

  • 1 million+: the number of Hispanic residents in the states of California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, New York, New Mexico, Illinois, New Jersey and Colorado.
  • 2 million: California was home to the largest Hispanic population out of all the states.
  • 5 percent: the number of US residents of Hispanic origin in the US living in California, Texas and Florida.
  • 9 million: the largest population of Hispanics in any county was found in Los Angeles County.
  • 49,000: the increase of Hispanics in Harris County in Texas between 2014 and 2015; the largest increase in any state

Source: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff16.html


Jobs and Median Household Income

67.1 percent of Hispanics aged 16 or over were employed in the civilian labor force in 2014, of which 20.4 percent held business, science, management, and arts occupations.

Median incomes:

United States$53,657
Hispanic/Latino$42,491

Source http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff16.html

Education

In 2014, 16.4 percent of undergraduate or graduate students students were of Hispanic origin, and 24.0 percent of elementary and high school students. 65.3 percent of Hispanics aged 25+ had completed their high-school education and 14.4 percent had obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Source: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff16.html

Families and Children

In the year 2015, there were 16.2 million Hispanic households in the US.

Hispanic (percent)US (percent)
Married-couple Households (2015)47.748.2
Married-couple households with children younger than 18 at home (2015)57.664.3
Families including two parents (2015)66.869.5
Married couples with children under 18 with both parents working (2014)46.059.7

Source: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff16.html

Hispanic/Latino Business

Between 2007 and 2012 there was a 46.3 percent increase in the estimated number of Hispanic-owned firms within the whole of the US, from 2.3 million to 3.3 million. 91.3% of these 3.3 million firms had no employees, compared to 80.4 percent of US firms.

Hispanic-owned companies reported sales totaling $437.8 million, $78.7 million of which was from firms owned by Hispanic women.

Source: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff16.html

Spanish in the World

  • Some countries or areas with significant Spanish-speaking populations include Andorra, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gibraltar, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, the United States and Venezuela.
  • Over 472 million people in the world speak Spanish as their first language. If we include the number of people who are fluent in Spanish as a second language, the total number of Spanish speakers in the world is well over 570 million people.
  • Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
  • Spanish is the second world language as a vehicle of international communication and the third as an international language of politics, economics and culture.
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The Miami English: A New English Dialect Is Born

Posted On September 25, 2013By TranspanishIn English Language, Latinos, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  1 Comment

It has always been said that languages are living creatures. Apparently it is an undeniable truth since a new English dialect is born: the Miami English. Young men and women that were born or have grown up there, whether from Latin origin or not, speak it at schools, universities and, of course, on the white sanded beaches of Miami.

According to language experts, this phenomenon is not new at all, especially in the United States. As it has already occurred in cities such as New York, Boston or Texas, the English spoken in Miami is suffering a series of changes motivated by the demographic changes in the area. In other words, the influence of the Caribbean and Latin American culture cannot be denied.

Even though this is not a new phenomenon, experts agree on the fact that this Miami English is something more than just speaking English using a particular accent. Philip Carter, an American Linguistics professor that’s been living in Miami for two years explains the characteristics of the Miami English.

Speakers of Miami English:

  • Usually refer to friends with the word “Bro”
  • Use plenty of times words as: “like”, “a lot”, “totally”, “oye”, “dale”, “super”
  • Use invented words such as “irregardless” or “supposebly”
  • Speak it mostly using nasal sounds, especially the girls.
  • Borrow some grammatical structures from the Spanish language.
  • Speak really fast
  • Stick to the five Spanish vowel sounds.
  • Do literal translations from the Spanish language into the English one.

Despite some prejudice that has arisen against the Miami English, the influence of this new dialect can be appreciated beyond the community of young men and women. In fact, it has become a regional dialect that is associated to the south of Florida.

Read more here (article in Spanish)

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Should NYPD Officers Speak Spanish?

Posted On July 5, 2013By TranspanishIn Languages, Latinos, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

The NYPD seems to have some trouble with Spanish speaking people. Just a few days after nine Hispanic officers were issued memos for chatting in Spanish amongst themselves and violating the department’s unofficial English-only policy, their intolerance with Spanish speakers has made it to the press again.

image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Five Latina women in New York City filed a lawsuit last week against the New York Police Department, the City of New York, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for failing to provide Spanish interpreters during separate house calls over the past two years.

One of the complainants, who is a victim of domestic abuse, said that, despite the fact that she asked for someone who spoke Spanish when she called 911, only English-speaking police officers were sent to her house. She adds that, to make things worse, they arrested her instead of the attacker and ridiculed her just because she was not fluent in English.

The reaction of the NYPD so far is disappointing, to say the least. Even though Paul Browne, its chief spokesperson, dismissed the lawsuit alleging that the department has an efficient language service as well as the largest number of foreign-language officers in the country, who many a time act as translators or interpreters during house calls, the truth is that the force reprimands its officers for not speaking English during the working hours.

That double message is contradictory and confusing. The NYPD embraces foreign officials and encourages them to put their language knowledge to the service of troubled citizens but then fails to send them to help out in situations where they are really needed or files memos against those same cops for using their mother tongue during working hours.

It is perfectly understandable the need to ensure the use of English as the only spoken language in certain situations. For instance, when officers from different ethnic backgrounds are together, when they are discussing safety instructions or procedures or when they are looking into a case. However, in every other situation, officers should be allowed to use the language they are more comfortable with. The United States is a multicultural and multilingual country and its police force should reflect that fact.

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Does Whole Foods discriminate against Spanish Speaking Employees?

Posted On June 11, 2013By TranspanishIn Latinos, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

In such a multicultural country as the United States, the number of Hispanic employees in the workplace has shown a steady increase over the last years. Attracted by the chance of better employment opportunities, many Latinos come to the States to find jobs in small, medium-sized and large business organizations. Some of them speak English fluently but others are not comfortably at all in an English-only environment thus employers need to adapt their companies to these circumstances.

There are many things that business owners can do to demonstrate commitment to Hispanic employees, at least from the language point of view. Amongst them we can mention: providing them with Spanish training courses, making sure all notices and corporate messages are offered to them both in English and in Spanish, and using visual aids to make concepts clearer in every training session.

Enforcing an “English-only” rule in the workplace seems to be a practical idea to discourage the use of Spanish amongst Latino workers. However, under the light of the recent events in New Mexico in which Latinos are organizing a boycott against Whole Foods for having allegedly suspended two workers for speaking Spanish during working hours, the advantages of such a policy should be at least questioned.

In this case, Whole Foods store in Albuquerque has failed to understand that it is located in one of the states with one of the largest Latino community and that, therefore, its decision shows a total disrespect not only to its Hispanics employees but also for a large number of their clients. In fact, it should not be strange at all if any time soon Latinos just stop doing their grocery shopping in their stores. Their spokesman’s statement that “all employees must speak English in the workplace” has not calmed down the outcry.

US companies, no matter how big or small their Latino workforce is, should definitely pay attention to this issue as it shows the impact that a corporate decision can have amongst its employees and clients. Failing to provide a comfortable and secure working environment to Spanish speaking employees can backfire in many other aspects of the business. It’s not only a matter of making sure everybody understands corporate memos and training courses on how to use a certain machine or software program. In fact, it has to do with corporate responsibility and showing respect for the Hispanic community.

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Is Latino Unemployment in the US really on the decrease?

Posted On May 7, 2013By TranspanishIn Latinos, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

Last week, the US employment report was rolled out and, on the surface, the figures look good for the Latino community living in the US.

The report documents a 0.2% drop in Latino unemployment in the past month. The figure has dropped from 9.2% in March 2013 to 9.0% in April 2013, but the data is deceiving, according to Alicia Criado from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).

The US Latino unemployment rate might well be the lowest it has been since November 2008, when it dropped to an impressive 8.6%, but a closer inspection of the fine details reveals a number of concerns.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In defiance of the report, Criado rightly points out that 209,000 Latinos based in the US have actually just stopped looking for work and were, therefore, not included in the data used to generate the recent report on US employment. Criado is adamant that Latinos face lots of difficulties when it comes to finding employment in the US across a wide variety of industries and that the constant disappointment felt from unsuccessful job applications has forced 209,000 of them to simply stop trying.

The NCLR also published its own monthly Latino report last week. This report delves a little deeper into the facts and figures relating to US Latino unemployment and reveals that unemployment levels, which specifically pertain to the Latino youth demographic, those individuals aged between 16 and 24, climbed to a shocking 18% this month – double the overall Latino unemployment rate recorded in the US government’s employment report. Unsurprisingly, Criado, and the team who work at the NCLR, want to see this discrepancy in the figures highlighted as a definite cause for concern.

When further analyzing the state of affairs regarding US unemployment as a whole, many people might be concerned to hear that during April 2013, even though 169,000 more jobs were made available in the US across a wide range of industries including business services, food services and bars, retail and healthcare, problems surrounding job shortage in the US are far from over. The report published by the NCLR reveals that with each new job advertised in the US at present, there are still three US citizens hoping to be employed in the role.

One of the main issues which places US Latinos at a distinct disadvantage in this competitive environment is education. Both the US government and the NCLR believe that one of the best ways of decreasing unemployment within the US Latino community relates directly to education and training. Both parties believe that more Latinos must be encouraged to get a college education in order to be able to compete against their peers for high-paying jobs. The question remains as to whether resources will be made available to bring about these changes and reduce unemployment within the coming 12 months.

Indeed, it is Criado’s hope that the next Secretary of Labor will regard investment in job training and education as a real priority for US Latino workers. This, coupled with a heavy focus on health and safety in the workplace, is for Criado two of the most important areas in which the US government needs to invest if it is really serious about reducing Latino unemployment rates in the US and helping Latino workers reach their true potential.

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