Posted on 02/02/2002 9:37:09 AM PST by greydog
Feb 2, 2002
Federal Work Force Mirrors Demographic Makeup of America - Except When It Comes to Hispanics
By Genaro C. Armas Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Uncle Sam wants you - especially if you are Hispanic.
This groups make up 13 percent of the population and 11 percent of the private sector work force. But Hispanics account for just 7 percent of the federal payroll.
The government's top recruiters want that to change - to better reflect the country's shifting demographics and to reach out to the Latino population.
The growth in the Hispanic community during the 1990s exceeded all previous Census Bureau forecasts, and Hispanics now rival blacks as the nation's largest minority group.
During that decade, Hispanic immigration soared from the nation's urban centers to rural towns in the Midwest and South. Both Democrats and Republicans see winning the Latino vote as crucial for success in this year's midterm elections and in 2004.
So is politics a factor in stepping up recruiting of Hispanics?
"I can assure you that is not the case," said Kay Coles James, director of the Office of Personnel Management. "It's just good government."
"Whether it's for political reasons or other reasons, it needs to be done now," said Larry Gonzalez, executive director of the Washington office of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials. "The bottom line for our community is that they want to see folks (in government) who look like them."
The 2000 census showed that 31 percent of Americans consider themselves a minority, compared with about 20 percent two decades earlier. Race statistics before 2000, however, are not directly comparable because of a change in the way the Census Bureau collects such data.
Illegal immigration during the 1990s played a big role in boosting the Hispanic population. A preliminary bureau estimate placed the number of undocumented Hispanic immigrants at more than 5 million, nearly 4 million from Mexico. The numbers include those in "quasi-legal" status, such as refugees or those seeking asylum.
U.S. citizenship is required for federal employment, which could be a barrier to administration recruiting goals.
"Unfortunately, there's no room for flexibility for hiring there," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group. "That's a problem in all fields."
There are other factors, too.
James said a lack of trust in the federal government and the belief that a government workplace is unwelcoming is common among Latinos.
"We're doing an OK job right now" of attracting minorities, she said. "We need to do an excellent job."
Strengthening recruiting efforts on college campuses and producing more advertisements for Spanish-language media are seen as important ways to reach out to Hispanics.
Government personnel officials said they would more closely monitor the efforts of other agencies. In a report last year to President Bush, James cited barriers affecting all applicants, regardless of race, such as shortening a hiring process that can take months to complete.
"The very first barrier is ignorance," said Max Stier, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, which promotes government employment. "People literally do not know about the opportunities in the federal government."
Thousands of federal employees will reach retirement age during the next four years, and some government analysts are concerned there will not be enough qualified workers to replace them. The current average age of the work force is 45.
Recruiting more Hispanics could help make up for retirement losses.
"The government should reflect it's constituency," Stier said in linking the two personnel issues. "And the government hasn't reached out to the full range of talent that the country offers."
As of Sept 30, 2000, minorities accounted for 30 percent of the more than 1.7 million employees in the executive branch of government, compared with 23 percent in 1980.
Blacks are the largest minority in the federal work force - 17 percent of employees in 2000, compared with about 16 percent two decades ago. In 2000, they were 11 percent of private sector workers and more than 12 percent of the total population.
Hispanic representation in the federal work force has increased from 4 percent in 1980 to 7 percent in 2000. But their proportion trails other minority groups in most Cabinet-level agencies.
For instance:
-Education: Blacks, 37 percent; Hispanics, 5 percent.
-Housing and Urban Development: Blacks, 35 percent; Hispanics, 7 percent.
Thirteen percent of Justice Department workers were Hispanic - the only agency whose share of Latinos was greater than the private sector. Blacks make up 16 percent. --- On the Net: Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov Office of Personnel Management: http://www.opm.gov/ AP-ES-02-02-02 1249EST This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAVFNVQ7XC.html
What percentage is either on welfare or illegally here in the USA?
It is mathematically impossible for the makeup of the federal workforce to "mirror" the demographics of America, for All Races Except One. If it fails to "mirror" one race (in this case, Hispanics), then (automatically) it must also fail to "mirror" some other race, to make up for it. Hispanics simply cannot be underrepresented without some other race being overrepresented.
Now, to the article:
This groups make up 13 percent of the population ... But Hispanics account for just 7 percent of the federal payroll.
Ok so Hispanics are "underrepresented" in the federal work force by about 6 percent.
Later:
Blacks are the largest minority in the federal work force - 17 percent of employees in 2000, .... more than 12 percent of the total population.
Aha. Which just about explains it, I think.
So presumably in the fedgov's "efforts" to hire more Hispanics, this will go hand in hand with efforts to hire less blacks. Right?
After all, the headline just as easily could have been, "Federal work force has too many blacks to mirror America". What a mystery that they did not select that title. ;)
This country now has a huge diversity that are no longer interested in becoming Americans. Let the hiring be based on the applicants ability and being an American. Looks like the REPS are for the Hisps and the Dems are for the rest of those who want a job with out ability.
That comment is very insulting. You do a great injustice to both Reagan and conservatives.
Being on welfare is no impediment to being hired as a federal worker, but being a non-citizen, especially an illegal, is. What the article does not say is what fraction of the total Hispanic population that 5 million represents. It's the eligible fraction that counts. Another factor is education, most federal jobs require at least a high school education, and many require more than that. What needs to be compared to decide if Hispanics, or any other group, is "fairly" represented in the Federal workforce is the per cent of eligibles to the per cent in the work force. I suspect by that standard minorites, at least the principle ones, are actually over represented in the federal workforce.
Of course, we all know the answer to that question.
Straight white males are the only group these activists are interested in seeing "terminated". These are the people they claim are "over-represented."
Its sad how few people know the actual demographic numbers for the United States. I bet not one in ten know that, as of the 2000 census, this country is still 75% white.
That would not work, those who pay the majority of the taxes wouldn't touch federal jobs with a 10 foot pole. They all are in the private sector. We need them there because they also create jobs for the many of the rest of us.
I think I am starting to see why blacks and hispanics tend to vote Democratic.
Man....all this obsession with diversity and fairness about makes me puke. It ain't working. It's demonizing the folks who carry the water around here and it's making folks dependent and hence contemptuous.....but we seem determined to stay the course on this hell bound train.
You attributed that quote to me, but it was made by ikka.
Though I am curious as to how you feel that's insulting to Reagan and conservatives?
I don't think this article included the military in its statistics. The military I believe is very much disproportionately white.
No. It will be at the expense of white straight males.
If Hillary had her way, we'd be under the burden of national health care ... waiting in line.
The line you wait in at the post office is an exact example. In some instances, because people are actually trying to help and get work done, the line will be short, and the work, efficient. But for the most part, there will be lines for dentisty, for teath cleaning, for pharaceuticals, for getting gas, for buying food, for just about everything including the outhouse.
Cynics may say that, "Well, there are already lines." But they will not, as usual, have addressed that randomness in the face of the KNOWN lines which are the bane of socialist "enterprises."
The federal government workforce DOES NOT reflect the private sector nor the country, in many respects.
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