by Anayat Durrani
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey shows greater numbers of immigrants settling in small towns and suburbs rather than cities where they typically settled when first immigrating to the U.S.; Los Angeles, for example, showed very little immigrant growth over the last ten years (NYTimes.com, 14 December 2010).
- Immigrant populations rose above 60% in areas where immigrants comprised less than 5% of the population in 2000.
- Latinos accounted for about 4.5 million of the 13.3 million new residents in the suburbs between 2005 and 2009; African Americans accounted for 2.5 million; and Asian Americans 2 million.
- What’s drawing immigrants to the suburbs? Jobs in industries such as construction and food.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- The fanning out of immigrants across the nation reflects their mobility in the workforce.
- The data shows the ethnic makeup of a rapidly changing America, and of a young population that is more diverse than that of older generations.
RESOURCES
