A new survey released today by UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, finds that working-class Hispanics — 79% of the Latino electorate — are working harder than ever yet continue living under severe economic strain.
The UnidosUS Survey of the Hispanic Working Class polled 2,700 working-class Latinos nationally, with oversamples in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas. It includes 1,955 working-class registered voters, offering a timely look at their economic concerns four weeks before the midterm elections. The findings are examined in “Broken Ladder: Latino Working Families Fight for Economic Stability,” a brief being released with the poll.
Nearly 80% of Latino adults (38.5 million) are part of the American working class and make up 1 in 5 of all U.S. workers. They power essential industries including construction, agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing, and they are projected to account for 78% of net-new workers this decade. Yet while the nation’s economic prosperity is increasingly tied to these workers, Latino working families are living under severe economic strain. Nearly 7 in 10 (68%) working-class Latinos say that they are working harder than ever but falling further behind and that they feel the ladder of upward mobility is broken. Yet 55% still believe prosperity is achievable for their families — a sign that Latino workers have not given up on the American Dream, even as it grows harder to reach.
“Our new survey shows that the vast majority of working-class Hispanic families are working longer but struggling economically in unprecedented ways. Nearly half feel that they are worse off than just a year ago,” said Janet Murguía, president and CEO of UnidosUS. “Those polled are making unconscionable choices just to stay afloat. They’re eating less to save money, skipping doctors’ visits or not filling prescriptions for needed medicine. And exacerbating this economic crisis is a cruel, chaotic and excessive immigration campaign that is harming the economy.”
UnidosUS and our partners know what works: living wages, accessible childcare, relief on energy bills and immigration policies that protect instead of punish. What these families need now are leaders who will start to deliver on the American Dream that working families have earned.
Previously documented in large-scale UnidosUS polls of Hispanic registered voters, the survey shows a consistent pattern of a broad and persistent economic squeeze that underscores the urgency for solutions.
The Cost of Living Is the Story, and Families Are Losing Ground
For working-class Latino families, the cost-of-living crisis is not a headline. It is a daily calculation at the grocery store, the gas pump and the pharmacy counter. Only 12% say they live comfortably; 61% say they just meet their expenses or struggle to.
Eighty-three percent (83%) rank the cost of living among their top three economic worries, followed by jobs and wages (55%) and healthcare (52%).
Forty percent (40%) say they are worse off than a year ago, nearly three times as many as those who say they are better off (14%). Of those losing ground, 76% point to rising prices for everyday goods and services.
Seventy-eight percent (78%) have taken extra steps just to stay afloat: 43% have bought less food or switched to cheaper groceries, 38% have dipped into savings, and nearly 1 in 5 (18%) have taken on another job or extra hours.
More than half (53%) have given up some form of healthcare because of the cost, from skipping doctor visits to leaving prescriptions unfilled or substituting cheaper over-the-counter medicine.
Immigration Enforcement Is Costing Families and Small Businesses
The tragic impact of out-of-control immigration actions is also rippling through household budgets and Main Street businesses.
Sixty percent (60%) of Latino small business owners say it hurt their business, most often through fewer customers and lower sales, employees missing work, or difficulty finding workers.
Forty-four percent (44%) say concerns about immigration enforcement hurt their household financially in the past year, through higher expenses, lost income, or family members afraid to go to work or seek healthcare.
A Pivotal Bloc That Campaigns Are Missing
With the midterms four weeks away, Hispanic working-class voters could decide close races, but campaigns are leaving them on the sidelines.
Fifty-five percent (55%) say no party, campaign or organization has asked them to register or vote. The gap holds even in battleground states, from 57% in Florida to 60% in Texas. Only 23% say they have been contacted by Democrats, and only 15% by Republicans.
45% say they are 100% certain to vote, and another 16% is almost certain — leaving a large share of this electorate still to be won over.
41% of Independent Hispanic working-class voters think neither party is advancing the interests and needs of working people.
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