Half a Million Hispanic Workers Missing from U.S Labor Force as Challenge for Biden’s Voting Base in Election Year

More than half a million Hispanic workers are missing from the workforce as reported by a recent study conducted by The Libre Initiative. This shortfall could pose significant challenges to President Joe Biden’s efforts to win over this critical voting bloc in an election year where economy and related matters continue ranking top amongst Latino voters according to Daniel Garza, president of The Libre Initiative. While millions of jobs have been added since the pandemic began, the labor force participation rate has not fully recovered. If it were back at pre-pandemic levels by 2023’s end, there would be an additional two million workers in the workforce with over half a million (530,000) of these missing employees being Hispanic, making up about one quarter (25%) of those who should ideally have joined. Inflation and high interest rates also affect Hispanics significantly given that they are an increasingly significant part of the US electorate with over 36 million eligible voters this year compared to just under thirty-two million in 2020, according to Pew Research Center data. The Biden administration’s assertions regarding its economic policies having created great job opportunities and prosperity do not correspond with reality as per multiple reports that have been published on the matter. Garza also highlighted how this dearth of workforce participation adds to other financial difficulties faced by Hispanic voters, including high inflation rates and interest rate hikes. The Libre report predicts that over 78% of new workers from 2020 through till 2030 will be Latinos based on current projections – an economic potential with enormous promise depending upon critical policy decisions to either promote or limit worker freedom, harm small businesses and increase the cost of doing business for vital industries.