Study Identifies Aging Hispanic Workers as “Invisible Boomers”

A discussion takes place about the elderly at "The Power of Inclusion" symposium of the American Association of Retired Professionals, held last week in Chicago. (photo: E. de Oliveira, EthnicNEWz.org, posted 6/13/2009)

When Jacob Lozada was 13, a neighbor came knocking on his door in San Jose, Puerto Rico, to tell his family that his grandfather had fainted at work.

“My father said, ‘Son, this is a blessing.’ I didn’t understand why,” Lozada recalled.

When the elder Lozada came home, Jacob’s father told him it was time to retire.

“And what I did not understand, until later in my life, was why a 60-year-old man would want to get up at 5 in the morning to go to work cutting sugar cane, which was one of the worst jobs anybody could have in the Tropics, especially in Puerto Rico,” Jacob Lozada added.

Lozada, a board member of the AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons), was a panelist at a seminar called “Older Hispanic American Workers: Current Status and Future prospects.”  The panel was one of many at a symposium in Chicago last week, called "The Power of Inclusion" and organized by the AARP.

According to the latest Census data, Hispanics grew from 6.5 percent of the total US population in 1980, to 15 percent today. Of the estimated 45 million Hispanics, 6 million are 50 to 69 years old.

A survey presented by Richard W. Johnson, PhD, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute research organization in Washington, DC, showed that by 2030, an estimated one in every 5 persons between the ages of 50 and 69 in the US will be of Hispanic origin.

Johnson called the Hispanic aging population “the invisible boomers.”  To get a count of the Hispanic population in the US, he combined the numbers of three sources: the 2007 American Community Survey of the US Census, the Health and Retirement survey of the University of Michigan, and a self-assessment by migrant workers living in Illinois, which was conducted by the Urban Institute. Johnson’s research looked at why Hispanic American workers aged 50 and older, such as Lozada’s 60-year-old grandfather, tend to continue working.  One possible explanation is that fewer Latino immigrant workers had health benefits in their homeland (43 percent) compared to US-born Latinos (49 percent).

Of the older Hispanic workers surveyed by Johnson, more of them (95 percent) responded that they “enjoy their jobs” than did African Americans (86.3 percent) and whites (87 percent).

“We found the Latino health paradox.  Healthier people migrate here, because workers overseas have better dieting and exercising habits, but as time progresses in America, they acquire the local practices and their health is affected,” said Johnson, who added that the paradox also is true among Asians and other ethnic groups.

In Johnson’s research, nearly the same percentages of Hispanics and whites responded that health problems have limited them at work: 15 percent of Hispanics, and 14 percent of whites.  

However, when asked about their absences at work in the past year, white workers reported more missed days than Latinos did.  About 45 percent of the white workers – compared to 32% of the Hispanic workers – said they missed at least one work day in the past 12 months.

“Yes, yes, yes. This is exactly what’s going on.  Many [Latino] workers have come from the construction industry and are losing their jobs, while they were dedicated to their employers,” said panelist Elba Aranda-Suh, executive director of the National Latino Education Institute, a nonprofit in Chicago.

Aranda-Suh also said her organization has seen an increase in the number of foreign-born Latino workers who come to the US with college degrees.

“It’s been a challenge helping older workers with degrees from their homelands, assimilate [in] the US market,” she said.

Aranda-Suh pointed out that resources available to train older workers in the past – such as the US Department of Labor’s Senior Community Service Employment Program, established in 1965 –  have been cut because of the current economic downturn.  Although resources are scarce today, she said she could still recall the day when there was a lack of information about the Latino workforce.

Half jokingly, Jacob Lozada urged Latinos to leave differences aside and participate more in the political decisions of their communities.

“How difficult it is sometimes to get anything done in your Latino community.  We say we are going to have dinner, then Mexicans want tortillas, Puerto Ricans want rice and beans, Venezuelans want something else.  Look, you have to get involved. That’s why I joined AARP,” he said.

As more studies and surveys about Hispanics come about, Lozada said it is easier to say that the federal government is not doing enough to help Latinos, “but what am I doing?” he asked.

The aging of all ethnic populations is a real problem that foreign workers need to deal with.  But hopes are still high for a long and prosperous life in this country, Aranda-Suh said.  She added that migrant leaders need to work closely with legislators and the private sector to address issues like retirement, long-term care and health insurance.

Johnson asked workers aged 50 and older to rate their health status.  Of the Hispanic respondents, 27 percent admitted their health is fair or poor, compared to 18 percent for whites, and 27 percent for African Americans.

Despite those findings, Latinos were the most optimistic about their expectations for long life.  On average, Latinos said they expect to live up to 82 years old, compared to an expected 79 years old for whites, and 76 for African Americans.

Source:  EthnicNEWz.org

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