JSRI is dedicated to engaged research and scholarship that generates, disseminates, and applies evidence-based knowledge that responds to the needs and aspirations of Latino communities in the Midwest and nationwide. To further this goal and expand our institutional faculty reach, JSRI is inviting MSU faculty to join us as affiliates of the institute. Also note that travel support is available when presenting research at academic conferences.

Please consider NEXO as an outlet for your research; it could be as a standard academic article—based on your discipline—or a research brief. Interested? Please contact Dr. Manny Chavez, interim director, chavezm1@msu.edu, or Alison Vincent, office coordinator, at webbalis@msu. edu. Lastly, our website (jsri.msu.edu) also has information about current available scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students.

In this issue, we are presenting three articles that represent the research production of JSRI. First, under the agricultural and social capital initiative, Dr. Marcelo Siles reports on his study conducted in Michigan and Tennessee as part of the LAFAT (Latino Farmers and the Adoption of New Technologies) project. The project, funded by the U.S. Department

of Agriculture, examines one of the major constraints facing small farmers: access to the formal financial system. The findings highlight that improving financial access is crucial, as small farmers face significant challenges in obtaining credit, adopting new technologies, transferring funds, and purchasing agricultural inputs. The article also indicates that financial institutions can benefit from increased engagement with small farmers.

Second, under the demographic, health, and social trends initiative, Dr. Jean Kayitsinga writes about a study on race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) and how they significantly shape voting behavior in the United States. Racial/ethnic differences in turnout diminished after accounting for socioeconomic status and other factors, like age and living area location. SES was strongly associated with both turnout and voter choice. In the last presidential election, African Americans and Latinos were more likely to support Kamala Harris and less inclined to support Donald Trump than whites. The report shows that higher education and income were associated with greater support for Harris.

Third, Dr. Richard Cruz Dávila, as part of the cultural heritage and oral history initiative, writes about a collaborative effort to preserve Michigan’s Latino history for communities, researchers, and future Latino generations. The article describes efforts including: 1) creating open access digital collections of scanned photographs and oral histories of Latino history; 2) teaching communities how to preserve their photographs, documents, and material culture for future generations; and 3) helping improve the relationship between Latino communities and local public history institutions. In sum, the article provides an overview of the genesis of the project and its activities to date. In the next issue, we will include academic research related to another important JSRI initiative related to news media that focuses on Latino representation, production, and consumption.

Also, JSRI recognizes the importance of Latinos in the U.S. labor force since they represent a major segment of the labor market. Latinos make up roughly 20% of the nation’s population, with an estimated

68 million living in the United States in July 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025). Based on demographic trends,  the  Latino  population  is estimated to grow significantly. Between 2022 and 2023, the population grew by 1.8%, while the nation’s largest racial demographic, non- Hispanic whites, decreased by .2% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024a).

Latinos’ level of employment is a key factor in how they contribute to the U.S. economy. Given the large share of Latinos in the U.S., it comes as no surprise that they make up a large segment of the labor force; roughly 19.56% in 2024. A total of 32.89 million Latinos (out of a total national average of 168.106 million) participated in the labor force, with 31.2 million employed. This employment makes up 63.8% of their civilian non-institutional population aged 16 and older. Compared to non-Hispanic white, Black or African American, and Asian populations, Latinos (of any race) had the highest rate of employment in 2024 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024a).

Given their contribution to the labor force, it is important to understand the occupations of employed Latinos. Latinos are highly represented in fields such as grounds maintenance, cleaning, manufacturing, and food service. Specifically, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in 2024, Latinos made up 52.5% of maids and housekeeping; 49.8% of packaging and filling machine operators and tenders; 48.1% of landscaping and groundskeeping workers; 44.8% of interpreters and translators; 42.5% of dishwashers; and 41% of cooks (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). The same statistics showed that in 2023 Latinos made up a large share of the following five jobs: painters and paperhangers (61%); construction workers (52%); maids and housekeeping (52%); landscaping and groundskeeping (50%); and carpenters (44%) (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024b). Given these occupational trends from both 2023 and 2024, various jobs in maintenance, hospitality, manufacturing, and the food services which rely on physical labor maintain a large share of Latino workers.

Despite these levels of employability, a 2025 Pew Research report that collected data from 4,923 U.S. Latinos from October 6–16 found that many Latinos are stressed over their finances and the economy. From the sample size, 63% identified their financial state as fair or poor, although 50% expected their situation to improve eventually. U.S. Latinos of higher income, as well as those who are college graduates, tend to report more satisfaction with their finances than their counterparts with less education. Expanding these ratings of their financial states, 36% of Latinos had difficulties paying utility bills, and another 36% reported borrowing money from loved ones, with another 35% struggling to purchase groceries. Adding onto this, only 33% of Latinos have an emergency fund that can cover 3 months of expenses (as recommended by the U.S. Federal Reserve). However, this financial situation is a mixed bag for Latinos, with 36% reporting they have saved money and 25% responding that they were given higher pay or a better job within the last year. Education helped more Latinos in 2024 to enter the workforce with higher levels of education than in 2020 or 10 years ago in 2015. More efforts need to focus on helping Latinos to achieve higher levels of education and skills training that will lead to better wages. (Data fact checker: Sadie Liddy.)

Please stay tuned for our next NEXO!

 

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