2006年VOA标准英语-US Census Report Shows Rapid Growth for Hi

By George Dwyer
Washington, D.C.
27 March 2006
 
watch Hispanic Business report

A new report from the United States Census¹ Bureau shows that between 1997 and 2002, Hispanic-owned businesses grew nearly three times faster than the national average. VOA's Melinda Smith has more on America's shifting economic landscape.

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Based on the most recent data available, the U.S. Census Bureau is reporting that America's 1.6 million Hispanic-owned businesses earned more than $220 billion in revenue between 1997 and 2002. 

 

 
Valerie Strang 
  

Valerie Strang is a survey statistician at the Bureau. She says, "The results of the 2002 Survey of Business Owners show that between 1997 and 2002 Hispanic-owned firms grew by 31 percent  - that's three times the national average for all businesses."

Los Angeles, California boasts the largest number of Hispanic-owned firms, with more than 180,000. Greater Miami, Florida was second with about 160,000, and the Houston area, in Texas, finished third with about 62,000. The number of Hispanic workers also continues to grow rapidly.

"By 2050, Hispanics in the labor² force will go from accounting³ for about one in 10 U.S. workers, to one in four," adds Ms. Strang.

Construction truck  
  
Most Hispanic businesses continue to be relatively⁴ small in size. Fewer than two percent generated annual revenues in excess of $1 million, and fewer than 2,000 Hispanic-owned firms employed more than 100 workers.

But big companies are growing quickly as well, according to the Census Bureau. "When you look at just those Hispanic-owned firms with 500 employees, the number increased 50 percent from 115 to 183."

Retail⁵ and wholesale⁶ trade accounted for fully⁷ one-third of Hispanic businesses. Another third ran building trades, maintenance and other service-oriented enterprises. U.S. Hispanic Chamber⁸ of Commerce President Michael Barrera says, "So we are very pleased by those statistics because they do show the growth of not only the Hispanic business community, but they are also reflective of the overall Hispanic consumer community, which is a consumer market today worth about $700 billion a year."

The Census report is indicative of the rapid growth of the U.S. Hispanic population, which has moved beyond the Southwest and Florida and is now showing steady growth in such states as Virginia, Maryland, Nevada and Rhode Island.

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

6 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。