Ten percent of all us counties are majority minority

Earlier this week, the US Census Bureau released estimates that in more than 300 US counties (about 10 percent of all US counties), more than half of the population is a racial or ethnic minority.

In addition, Texas, New Mexico, California, and Hawaii are all majority minority states, with Texas being the newest addition to the group. Hawaii is the only state in the United States that has always been a majority minority state.

One reason why 10 percent of all US counties are now majority minority counties is the surge in the Hispanic population all over the United States. The US Hispanic population continues to grow at nearly four times the national average, partially due to the high birth rates among Hispanics and the surge in Hispanic immigration to the United States. The Asian American population has been increasing at a high rate as well, though not nearly as high as the growth rate in the Hispanic population.

Such increases in the minority population are beginning to change the cultural fabric of the United States. They also pose challenges for education, health care, and the workforce. Higher education experts are struggling with how to educate the growing minority population, particularly those whose English language skills leave much to be desired.

City and county governments around the nation are trying to find solutions to the growing health care crisis in the US, seeing as how substantial portions of the un- and underinsured in the US are minorities. And employers continually struggle with how to effectively integrate minorities into the workforce and how to help them overcome the specific challenges they face.

Because the surge in the minority population is primarily due to the surge in Hispanic growth, it also creates new questions about how the nation will embrace the ever-growing Hispanic population— currently poised to become a mega-minority group and perhaps one day overtake whites as the majority in the US.

One of the problems that has emerged as a result of the surge in the US Hispanic population is that a sizable percentage of Hispanics either don’t finish high school or don’t go on to college. As other nations (such as India and China) invest heavily in the importance of an education (particularly in mathematics and science), if Hispanics and the rest of the minority population continue to graduate in lower numbers, the entire nation is likely to pay the price.

Educated and qualified US minorities are currently in high demand for professional positions, but as the labor shortage in the US continues, the demand will quickly increase. More US minorities must graduate from both high school and college to meet that demand, or educated and qualified foreign nationals will meet it. If that happens, minorities may continue to be relegated to low paying jobs.

The professional job market also continues to change, as businesses now need to rely on more culturally sensitive, bi- and multilingual employees to serve their ever-changing, demographically diverse clients and consumers. Minority employees must strive to get the education necessary to become qualified for these types of positions.

As minorities, we must do our part to weave ourselves into the great American quilt by educating ourselves and striving to for the best employment opportunities so our impact on the ever-changing US business environment will be more than marginal.