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"Small Town U.S.A."
Many Hispanic marketing professionals have been mining Census data to see what the numbers reveal about the growing Hispanic population in the U.S. Yet only looking for data about Hispanics misses other important parts of the equation—namely, where Hispanic are missing, and where they are sorely needed.
The News-Gazette, a newspaper serving Eastern Illinois, recently ran an Associated Press story discussing the growing problem of what demographers call “natural decrease.” This is when there are more deaths than births in a given geographic area. The article focuses on West Virginia, through the story of a rural area filled with old people, where the few young people leave to pursue opportunities elsewhere, and which reflects a trend across all of the Rust Belt region. One line in the article stands out: A demographer is quoted as saying that, “In some cases, the only thing that can pull an area out (of poverty) is an influx of young Hispanic immigrants or new economic development.”
This is the story that is not being told about the Census, but that needs to be disseminated. While politicians can discuss the details of the immigration debate, including its more controversial elements, the fact remains that some areas of the U.S., where manufacturing and industry have been in decline for quite some time, need young people to come in and revitalize communities. Latino immigrants provide a source of labor for communities where young people have been leaving for years.
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