The contribution of Latinas to the U.S. economy could be even greater, according to a new report.

• A recent report funded by Bank of America reveals that Latinas contributed $1.3 trillion to the 2021 U.S. gross domestic product, an increase from $661 billion in 2010.
• In that year, the economic output of Latinas surpassed Florida's economy, and only the GDP of California, Texas, and New York were larger.
• Some economists believe that Latinas' actual contribution to the country's GDP could be more than what's reflected in the data.

Latinas are making substantial contributions to the U.S. economy.

In 2021, the female Hispanic population contributed $1.3 trillion to the gross domestic product, up from $661 billion in 2010, as per a recent report funded by Bank of America.

The GDP growth rate between 2010 and 2021 was 51.1%, which is 2.7 times the economic contribution of the non-Hispanic population.

In 2021, the total output of U.S. Latinas was greater than the entire state of Florida, according to a report that cited data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Additionally, only those from California, Texas, and New York were larger that year.

Some economists believe that U.S. Latinas could be contributing more to GDP than the report's figure, despite the large figures.

St. Mary's University associate economics professor Belinda Román stated that there are numerous areas where the data may not be accurately reflecting activity, including child care.

"In an interview with CNBC, she stated that a significant portion of uncompensated care is not reflected in the numbers, as there are many Latinas who are not included in those statistics."

Mónica García-Pérez, an economist, agrees that the figure could be larger, stating that some of Latinas' "unacknowledged" contributions, such as being a stay-at-home mom providing care for other neighbors' kids, enable "other groups to participate in the labor market."

She mentioned that evaluating their contributions is challenging due to their general occupational roles.

The Fayetteville State University economics professor stated that this group is highly sensitive to shocks and their presence in sectors with high mobility or turnover could be the reason. She explained that they are typically found in care and service industries, such as health care, retail, and hospitality, which makes them a crucial component of economic cycles.

During a recession, Latinas are likely to lose their jobs faster in the sectors they work in, as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, they may also be more likely to be reincorporated in the market because the cost of entry and the type of positions they enter have lower barriers.

A growing force

According to the BofA report, Latinas are leading other groups in terms of labor force participation.

The participation rate for Latinas increased by 7.5 percentage points from 2000 to 2021, while the participation rate of non-Hispanic women remained unchanged during the same time period.

Although the overall growth of the labor force slowed in 2020, the growth rates for Hispanic men and women were still positive, while the non-Latino labor force growth rate was negative, with more people leaving the labor force than entering it.

Between 2019 and 2021, the GDP of Latinos grew more than five times the rate of non-Latinos, gaining 7.7% compared to 1.5%. Additionally, the GDP of Hispanic men grew nearly four times the rate of non-Latinos during the same period at 5.9%.

Notably, Latino households were among the hardest hit by the pandemic.

"Latinas are the driving force of vitality that the economy needs, especially during times when the economy is most in need, according to economist Matthew Fienup, co-author of the report and executive director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University."

"It's difficult to imagine what could halt this growth if Covid-19 didn't," said David Hayes-Bautista, co-author and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the School of Medicine at UCLA.

Drivers of change

The employment-to-population ratio for Latinas has increased from 41.6% in December 1978 to 56% in December 2023, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute.

In the same time frame, the wage gap between Black women and white, non-Hispanic men has decreased by 11.9 percentage points, while the wage gap for all women has decreased by 8.8 percentage points.

"Elise Gould, a senior economist at EPI, stated that some of the expansion of opportunities for women is due to a lack of wage growth for typical workers over the past few decades. As a result, households may have had to put in more work hours to do better."

The report by BofA's co-authors found that the growth in labor force participation and educational attainment led to income gains for the group, notably about 2.5 times that of non-Hispanic women from 2010 to 2021.

Another factor contributing to Latinas' economic output, according to Hayes-Bautista, is the intergenerational shifts and faster population growth of Hispanic women compared to Hispanic men and non-Latinos.

""From around 2000 onwards, it became apparent that the first-generation immigrant workforce was beginning to age out, and their positions were being taken by their daughters and granddaughters, who were significantly more numerous in terms of population size, and who brought with them higher levels of human capital," he stated."

The labor force growth in certain regions across the country has been positively impacted by the contributions of Latinos, as stated by Fienup in a CNBC interview.

""What we're seeing now is just the beginning of what will be an increasingly important story in the United States economy over the next three decades," he said."