School Dropout Rate Among Hispanics Reaches 28 Percent
Published April 27, 2011




Washington – The school dropout rate among Latino teenagers stands at 28 percent, meaning that members of this group face significant barriers when they enter the job market.

A report released this week by the National Council of La Raza analyzes the situation of young Hispanics at risk of social exclusion and suggests strategies to improve their future opportunities.
Just 58 percent of Latinos complete high school, compared with 78 percent of non-Hispanic whites.

Insufficient education translates into greater difficulties when former students are looking for a job, and thus 40 percent of Latinos age 25 and up and without high school diplomas are currently unemployed or have only a temporary job.

And the situation will get worse in the future, according to the study, since half of the 15.6 million new jobs that are forecast to be created in the United States by 2016 will require at least some university education.

The majority of these jobs will be in the areas of education, health care, social services, computers and environmental sciences.

Thus, in 2018, people who have not completed high school will only be able to be hired for 28 percent of available jobs.
Latinos, despite being a significant labor force in the country's economic recovery, will continue to be concentrated in low-paying jobs in agriculture, fishing, cleaning services and construction.

Because of that, La Raza in its report defends the need to establish programs that are focused on young Latinos between the ages of 16 and 24 who dropped out of school but who are not working.

"Keeping in mind that Hispanics are going to represent a very important segment in the future labor force, it's crucial to reengage these young people in their training, educate them, to be able to place these kids, who now are at risk of social exclusion, on the road to quality employment and economic stability," NCLR's director for Workforce and Leadership Development, Simon Lopez, told Efe.
According to the study released on Tuesday, young people who have completed high school earn $630,000 more during their lives than those without diplomas or GEDs.

The factors explaining why Hispanics are at greater risk of dropping out of school and remaining jobless are, among other things, the language barrier, their immigration situation and that of their families, low incomes and an overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system.

In 2008, 3 percent of Hispanic males between 16 and 25 were incarcerated, while the rate among non-Hispanic whites was 1 percent.
Economic difficulties also present another obstacle, given that 23 percent of these young people live below the poverty line, compared with 13 percent of their white peers.

Meanwhile, young Hispanics who see one or both of their parents deported for immigration violations often have to find a job to help support their families.

The entire problem of dropping out of school and losing - or being unable to find - jobs, according to La Raza, has repercussions not only in the lives of these young people but also imposes an elevated economic and social cost on the country as a whole.


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