Summary of Justin Heet’s data for April 21 Indiana-Mexico presentation

The Hispanic growth Indiana is experiencing is associated with a later wave of Hispanic immigration. In comparison to the U.S. as a whole, this means for Indiana (all figures are for the Year 2000):

• a far lower percentage of the population is Hispanic (3% vs. 13%)
• a far higher percentage of the Hispanic population is Mexican (72% vs. 59%)
• a very similar percentage of the Mexican population is foreign born (39% vs. 42%)
• a very similar percentage of the foreign born Mexican population is citizens (21% to 22%)
• a lower percentage of the non-citizen foreign born Mexican population is undocumented (67% to 58%).
  

Mexican immigration accounts for an estimated 12% of post-2000 population growth in Indiana.

There is often an image of Hispanic and Mexican migration being a chiefly urban issue. Nothing could be further from the truth. In Indiana, there is a belt from Lake County in the Northwest to Marion County that is tremendously reliant on immigration. The majority of the counties in this corridor are primarily rural.

There is often an image of Mexican workers being restricted to agriculture, restaurants, and hotels. Thirty-eight percent of Mexicans in Indiana are employed in manufacturing. Hispanics are most under-represented in the education, health, and social services industries (19% of the non-Mexican workforce is employed in these industries while only 9% of the Mexican workforce is). [Figures are for the Year 2000].

To this point, Mexican workers have not had access to the white-collar segments of the economy. Twenty-eight percent of non-Mexican workers are employed in management, business and financial, and professional and related occupations. Only 12% of Mexicans are in these occupations. [Figures are for the Year 2000].

The total income of Mexicans in Indiana is nearly two billion dollars (1.9 billion in 1999). On a per capita basis, Mexican income in Indiana is just less than 60% of non-Mexican income. [Figures are from the 2000 Census.]

The disparity in per capita income is not primarily a function of the percentage of Mexicans in non-full time work, as might be surmised. Fifty-two percent of the Mexican workforce and fifty-two percent of the non-Mexican workforce are not working full time. Nor is there are a large difference in the distribution of the Mexican and non-Mexican non-full time workforces across the income continuum. Instead, the disparity in average income for the two groups is a function of the difference between the distributions of the full time workforces across the income continuum. Fifty-three percent of full time Mexican workers earn less than 25,000 dollars per year. Only 31% of full-time non-Mexican workers earn less than 25,000 dollars per year. [Figures are from the 2000 Census.]

Mexican trade is critically important to the Indiana economy. In 1998, Indiana ranked 14th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the value of exports to Mexico. By 2002, Indiana’s rank was 6th. The value of Indiana’s exports grew by 209% during this period. At the same time, Indiana’s rank for the value of imports fell from 5th to 6th. From 1998-2002, Indiana’s trade deficit with Mexico was essentially halved.

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