Hispanic-Americans are expected to make up three-fourths of the growth in the nation’s labor force from 2010 to 2020, according to new projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The figures were compiled in a report by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, a non-partisan public opinion research organization that studies attitudes toward politics, the press and public policy issues.

The Pew Center said that the figures are largely a reflection of the fact that the nation’s Hispanic population is growing rapidly due to births and immigration. At the same time, the aging of the non-Hispanic, white population is expected to reduce their numbers in the labor force over the same period.

The report shows that over the same period the growth rate for African-Americans in the labor force is projected to be slightly higher than 10 percent. With regard to the growth in the Black workforce, the rate is expected to expand by 11.6 percent for Black men, with Black women accounting for 8.8 percent of the growth, the report said. 

The growth rate for the white workforce is expected to increase by slightly less than 5 percent. However, the growth in the Asian-American workforce is expected to rise robustly, only slightly below the Hispanic rate, at 33 percent.

Another significant contributor to the growth in the Hispanic-Americans growth rate is the fact that that segment of the population has a higher labor force participation rate than other groups. 

The nation’s labor force participation rate — that is, the share of the population ages 16 and older either employed or looking for work — was 64.7 percent in 2010. Among Hispanics, the rate was 67.5 percent. 

The Pew Center said there are two main explanations for this gap. “Hispanics are a younger population than other groups, and include a higher share of immigrants.”

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(Photo: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)