Some of the stories we’ve been reading:
New study shows jobs scarcer for migrants – Four out of five Mexican and Central American migrants are finding it harder to land a job in the United States and a large majority say discrimination is getting worse, according to a new study by the Inter-American Development Bank and the Bendixen polling firm. The study, which for the first time demonstrates the impact that the immigration debate in Washington is having on America’s streets, also shows remittances are growing but at a much smaller pace. The poll found 82 percent of Mexicans and 84 percent of Central Americans said they found it more difficult to obtain a good-paying job than a year ago. Forty-five percent blamed the increased difficulty on problems with documentation and 21 percent blame a lack of jobs. The poll was conducted in June, at the height of the debate in the U.S. Senate to overhaul immigration laws. A proposal to provide an avenue for many migrants to legalize their status failed amid a backlash from mostly conservatives demanding a crackdown on illegal immigration. Miami Herald, online.
Telemundo Scores 17% Bump in Adult Viewers – Hispanic TV network Telemundo recorded a 17 percent nightly increase among TV adult viewers 18-49 from 7 p.m.-11 p.m. during the recently completed July sweeps over the same month last year, according to Nielsen Media Research data. For the July sweeps, Telemundo’s adult 18-49 viewers this year grew to 565,000 nightly, up from 481,000 last July. The Monday-Friday 18-49 totals averaged 605,000 viewers this year, up 16 percent, while the Saturday-Sunday 18-49 totals averaged 464,000, up 23 percent over last July. The largest growth during the month came in the 9-10 p.m. hour, which grew 33 percent, helped by the strong showing of its novela Zorro’s finale, which drew over 1.6 million viewers. The 10-11 p.m. hour saw an increase of 14 percent in viewers. MediaWeek, online.
South Florida Tops for Hispanic Entrepreneurs – South Florida is tops when it comes to Hispanic-owned companies in the United States, according to rankings just released by Hispanic Business magazine of Santa Barbara, Calif. Companies from Fort Lauderdale and Miami lead all three of the major lists compiled yearly by the magazine: the largest Hispanic-owned business in the United States by revenue, the fastest-growing and the top exporter. The top seller as well as largest exporter is Miami-based Brightstar Corp., with revenue and exports topping $3 billion last year. The fastest-growing is Fort Lauderdale’s Liberty Power Corp., with compounded annual growth of 249 percent since 2002 to reach $120 million in sales last year, the magazine reported, citing company data. Miami companies topped all three lists in 2005, when real estate developer The Related Group was the largest, telecommunications service provider LatiNode of Miami the fastest-growing and Brightstar the top exporter, according to the magazine. South Florida regularly leads the lists, analysts said, because Hispanics in the area tend to be better educated and richer than elsewhere in the country and therefore more likely to develop companies. Hispanic Business, online.
Latino Men, Women Differ on Work-Family Conflict – Low-wage male Latino workers report less conflict between work and family than white middle-class households, a new study found. The disparity may be due to differences in attitudes about the relationship between work and family, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine wrote in the August issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology. ’In the United States, there’s this idea that work and family are diametrically opposed — people think that it has to be one or the other,’ Grzywacz said. ’In white, middle-class America, everyone is talking about how combining work and family is so stressful.’ Not so for Latino families, reported the researchers, at least according to the men interviewed. The surveyed workers viewed work and family as integrated, with work as a means to family well-being. As a result, there is little to no work-family conflict, especially for men. The study provided evidence suggesting that workers and their families arranged their lives in ways to minimize conflicts between work and family. Latinas told a different story. While the men frequently reported that work had little or no effect on their families, some of the women were able to give clear examples of work-to-family conflict, citing stress and pressures from the job and supervisors. Washington Post, online.
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