Making Ends Meet: Hmong Socioeconomic Trends in the U.S

AbstractThis article examines Hmong socioeconomic trends from 1990 to 2010. A review of economic indicators across states and in relation to the U.S. population reveals that on an aggregate level, the Hmong American population's socioeconomic status has improved significantly. The increases in income and earnings have, however, been shortchanged by external factors brought about partially by the financial crisis and its aftermath. Consequently, this begs us to question the extent to which such developments contribute to the overall economic wellbeing of Hmong Americans.Keywords: Hmong Americans, socioeconomic status, income, povertyIntroductionToday Hmong Americans are found throughout the United States. Internal migrations have resulted in the establishment of large and small communities, and the Hmong seem to thrive in certain locations more than others (Vang, 2010). Although they are a small proportion of the U.S. population, the exponential growth of the Hmong American community and their concentration in a few states makes them stand out. What factors have contributed to differences in socioeconomic status of Hmong Americans in the various communities? To what extent has the U.S. economic recession impacted Hmong Americans? Given their concentration in certain industries, how has their employment status been affected by significant job losses in those industries? While there are no simple answers to these questions, this article explores changes in social and economic characteristics over the last few decades to attain a snapshot of how the Hmong American community is faring at the beginning of the twenty-first century.MethodologyUsing Census data from 1990, 2000, and 2010,1 this study examined indicators of socioeconomic status across geographic locations and in relation to the overall U.S. population.2 Greater attention is given to developments in the three states with the largest Hmong populations: California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. When information is available, comparisons are made with states that have smaller population sizes.Indicators of Economic WellbeingEducation, income and occupation are commonly used to measure socioeconomic status. Since the majority of foreign-born Hmong Americans arrived in the U.S. with little or no formal education, few have been able to access high paying jobs. The situation is exacerbated by the recent economic recession. Similar to other Americans, it is difficult for many Hmong Americans to be optimistic about the U.S. economy when they are faced with limited job opportunities at the local level, and gloom often dominates state and national employment forecasts. In his August 26, 2011 speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben S. Bernanke asserted:[It] is clear that the recovery from the crisis has been much less robust than we had hoped. From the latest comprehensive revisions to the national accounts as well as the most recent estimates of growth in the first half of this year, we have learned that the recession was even deeper and the recovery even weaker than we had thought; indeed, aggregate output in the United States still has not returned to the level that it attained before the crisis. Importantly, economic growth has for the most part been at rates insufficient to achieve sustained reductions in unemployment, which has recently been fluctuating a bit above 9 percent.The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) further contends in its May 2012 forecast that despite moderate employment gains and an increase in pace of consumer spending during the first half of 2011, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the U.S. was projected to increase only gradually in 2012 and 2013. The housing demand had increased noticeably, but the overhang of unsold homes and the tide of foreclosures will restrain the revival in residential investment (2012). …