Food Trucks
Reuters

More Latinos open and own small businesses in the United States than any other demographic according to a recent study from Stanford University.

The spiking number of Latinos in the United States has helped the U.S. economy. They are now one of the biggest contributors to the economic growth of the country. In a recent study released by Standford University, it was found out that the number of Latinos who own businesses has grown by 34 percent over the past 10 years.

Latino small businesses are now the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States and this is despite the battle of Latinos toward systematic racism that sometimes led to lower incomes and loan rates, according to the Pew Research Center.

The Stanford study found that Latino-owned businesses have greatly boosted the U.S. economy. It is estimated that Latinos have contributed around $500 billion to the economy by virtue of annual sales. This means that Latinos are becoming the United States' most prolific economic force.

The Stanford study also echoed a 2019 report to the U.S. Congress which revealed that around 60 million Latinos living in the country have accounted for $2.3 trillion in the economy since 2017. This means that the total accumulated contribution of Latinos since 2017 is the eighth-largest economy in the world if it was ranked.

The expected growth of Latinos in the United States of around 30 percent this year simply means that their economic contribution will likely to grow as well. The spiking number of Latinos who owned small businesses in the country also helped to reduce unemployment in the country.

According to a 2019 report by the Standford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI), it was revealed that Latino-owned businesses have employed more than three million people. This means Latino-owned small businesses did not only help the U.S. economy in terms of revenues, but also helped the country in reducing the unemployment rate.

Moreover, in a published article in USA Today, it was found that Latinos who owned businesses in the country tend to be younger than non-Latino business owners. Around 33 percent of Latino entrepreneurs in the country age not more than 45 years old.

Statistically, it is estimated that in every 100,000 Latino adults in the United States since 2018, around 510 became entrepreneurs every month. Likewise, Latinos are now represented in all major industry sectors, manufacturing, education, health services, finance, and more.

In the 2019 report by Standford, it was stipulated that Latinos most of the time get their loans from local banks that helped them to establish their small businesses rather than from national banks. However, local banks in the country have slowly disappeared.

In data provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that there were around 8,080 FDIC-insured community banks in December 2001 but out this there were only 5,406 that remained in 2018. This affected Latinos and put them out in the old but they continue to thrive.

The culture of Latino in valuing families has greatly contributed also in the retention of Latino-owed small businesses because if there are no local banks available for a business loan, they turn to their family and friends to borrow some amount to start their business.

Latino-owned businesses are very significant in the United States. Jus in Salinas alone, Latinos owned restaurants, grocery stores, showrooms, barbershop, and more. In data provided by the Monterey County Workforce Development Board from the 2012 American Community Survey, it was found out that more than 30 percent of all businesses in Monterey County are owned by Hispanics and Latinos.