by Edwin Mora
Francisco Dimas, of the FMLN, gives last minute information on the presidential election in El Salvador on March 15 at El Balazo Taquería, in which Mauricio Funes of the FMLN won over the ARENA candidate.
Hunger for higher education is growing among Latinos, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released March 4. It revealed that full-time Latino students made up 11.5 percent of the U.S. college student population in 2007, a leap from 10.3 percent in 2006. Overall, there were 1.5 million Hispanics enrolled full-time in 2007, as well as 8.3 million white non-Hispanic students, with blacks at 1.7 million and Asians at 900,000.
The overall college student population, which includes individuals 15 yeans of age and older enrolled in undergraduate and graduate full-time classes, was 12.7 million, up from12.0 million the year before.
Other highlights in the report included.
- Of the full-time college enrollees, Hispanic women retained their majority status over Hispanic men. They comprised 55°/e of undergraduates and 60°/e of graduates, for a total of 859,000 enrolled full-time.
- Latino males made up the remaining 600,000.
- Of the 5.3 million part-time college students age 15 or older, Hispanics made up 713,000, or 13.5 percent.
In sum, there are approximately 2.2 million Hispanics enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs, both part-time and full-time. Hispanic figures are based on data collected in the October School Enrollment Supplement to the Current Population Survey. Most data are broken down by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, family income, type of college, employment status and vocational course enrollment.
Older Latinos contributed significantly to the increase in Hispanics on campuses. Those in the 35-orolder bracket made up 15 percent of all students in that age range. They accounted for 7 percent of the full-time college students and 36 percent of those attending part-time.
Slightly more than one in four (27 percent) age 3 and older were enrolled in classes—from nursery school to graduate studies in 2007. Those in grades one through 12 made up nearly two-thirds of that number (64 percent).
Unemployment rate for Hispanics accelerates into double digits
by Gracia Salvemini
Hispanic unemployment leaped over one percent into double digits during February.
A survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, documented it as 10.9 percent, a significant increase over the 9.7°/0 January rate.
The increase means that Hispanics lost 242,000 jobs within a month.
On March 6, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced that the U.S. economy lost 651,000 jobs in February.
The national unemployment rate is now 8.1 percent. About 4.4 million Americans have lost their jobs since the beginning of the recession in 2008.
Solis stated her plans to “re-start lending for consumers and small businesses, help responsible home owners pay their mortgages and re-finance their homes, and address the long-term economic challenges we face. Hispanic link.
