People of color have surpassed white people to make up the majority of working-age hires in the U.S. for the first time since records began in the 1970s.
Minorities accounted for most of the people aged 25-54 hired in 2017, according to a Washington Post analysis of Department of Labor data. The gap has since widened, largely due to an influx of women into the workforce.
Minority women flocked to the workforce in 2015 to replace retirees from the baby boomer generation, as well as take advantage of a booming labor market. Since the start of 2017, the number of Americans in jobs has increased by 5.2 million. About 4.5 million of those new jobs are held by people of color.
Economists attribute the demographic change in the workforce to a tight labor market. Employers, new hires, caseworkers, and recruiters say that several other factors, such as cultural changes and increasing levels of education among minorities, are also contributing.
For example, Hispanic enrollment at Northern Virginia Community College has doubled in the past ten years.
“Culturally, our role was to stay home and take care of the children,” NVCC vice president of student services Frances Villagran-Glover said. “But that mind-set is changing. And as women go into the workforce, they see opportunities for leadership and growth.”
