Email this page  Print this page  del.icio.us  digg

Datos report points to youth power

English speaking, upwardly mobile, internet savvy and pay attention to ads in English

The fastest-growing, largest segment of the Arizona's Latino population is bicultural, bilingual, and younger than 28 years old.

They are English-speaking, upwardly mobile, Internet savvy, and pay attention to ads that are in English and sensitively reflect the two cultures they effortlessly live in. Bicultural, bilingual Hispanic teens will shape today's marketplace through their buying and trends-making power.

That vision of Arizona's future emerges from the 2006 Datos economic study of Latinos. The annual survey is sponsored by Salt River Project and the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

According to Datos, second-generation offspring of immigrant parents are joining the third generation of U.S.-born Latinos in ways that will have a profound impact on Arizona's economy and society. The study adds that ".the state's workers, students, parents, voters and entrepreneurs are increasingly Latino."

Some important statistics from the 2006 Datos are:

. Arizona is the ninth largest Hispanic market in the U.S., the second-fastest growing

. Among the states with the largest Hispanic markets, Arizona ranks seventh with $24 billion

. Hispanic total purchasing power will reach $30 billion in Arizona by 2010.