WASHINGTON Those new hotels and casinos that sprouted up inNevada's Clark County this past decade attracted more than justgamblers anxious to try their luck under the bright lights of LasVegas.
The boom also brought an influx of Asians and Hispanics eager tofill new construction and service-industry jobs, a development thathelped make Nevada the fastest-growing state in the 1990s.
New Census Bureau estimates being released Wednesday show thatincreases in the nation's two fastest-growing minority populationsalso are helping to spark gains elsewhere.
Between July 1, 1990, and July 1, 1999, the nation's Asian andPacific Islander population grew 43 percent to 10.8 million, and theHispanic population grew 38.8 percent to 31.3 million, the Censusestimates show. These are the last such estimates to be releasedbefore detailed Census 2000 results come out next year.
California, Texas and New York-the three most populous states-continue to have the highest numbers of minorities, but Nevada,Georgia and North Carolina experienced the biggest percentageincreases, Census analyst Larry Sink said.
"It's largely a condition of jobs and the network of people theyknow there," said John Haaga of the Population Reference Bureau, aWashington-based research group. "That's the traditional Americanexperience."
Nationally, the country's white population increased 7.3 percentbetween 1990 and 1999 to 224.6 million. Blacks remained the country'slargest minority group, experiencing a 13.8 percent spike during thesame period to 34.8 million, while the American Indian and AlaskaNative population increased 15.5 percent to 2.3 million.
"The white, black and American Indian populations for the mostpart just don't show that dramatic of a change," Sink said. Overall,the Hispanic and Asian growth is "largely being fueled byimmigration."
Nevada's 50 percent population growth led all states during the90s. Its Asian population rose 123.7 percent to 88,208, the largestsuch increase in the nation, while its Hispanic population rose 144.6percent to 304,364. Hispanics can be of any race.
California had the biggest Hispanic population with 10.4 million.More than 2.7 million Hispanics moved into the state between 1990 and1999, a 35.8 percent increase.
As for Asian population by state, California had the most, 4million, up 36.8 percent in the 90s. New York was second withslightly more than 1 million, up 44.5 percent.
No comments:
Post a Comment