Latino Baby Boom Speeds Ahead

    Last week the U.S. Census Bureau released the latest Hispanic population estimates. What stood out is Hispanic population growth was overwhelmingly (62%) driven by natural increase and not net immigration in contrast with 2000 when natural increase and immigration were nearly equal.

The 2007 report showed that Hispanic births have steadily increased year-over-year, while at the same time Non-Hispanic births have shown significant declines. Hispanic childbirths are up 3% since 2000, while Non-Hispanic childbirths are down 20%. Also, Hispanic babies are now 24% of the nation’s total vs. 20% in 2000.

Hispanic growth from immigration has shown a trend of peaks and valleys. Immigration is currently down 30% from 2000. But of course, as we all know, immigration is highly dependent upon the political and economic situations of the countries of origin — as well as of the US. Tough border and undocumented employment policies in the US combined with slow construction and fewer overall jobs in the US and few jobs in Latin America…immigration is down from 787K in 2000 to only 546K in 2007.

So, what role does immigration play in this Latino Baby Boom? Latino parents, responsible for this BOOM, are both Foreign Born and US Born!

With childbirth outpacing net immigration, marketers have “Latina Moms” to think about when planning initiatives as well as a whole generation of young Latinos to cultivate!