Who are the Peruvians?

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A total of 519,000 Hispanics of Peruvian origin resided in the United States in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

A total of 519,000 Hispanics of Peruvian origin resided in the United States in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

A total of 519,000 Hispanics of Peruvian origin resided in the United States in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Peruvians in this statistical profile are people who self-identified as Hispanics of Peruvian origin; this means either they themselves are Peruvian immigrants or they trace their family ancestry to Peru. Peruvians are the tenth-largest population of Hispanic origin living in the United States, accounting for 1.1% of the U.S. Hispanic population in 2008. Mexicans constituted 30.7 million, or 65.7%, of the Hispanic population.1

This statistical profile compares the demographic, income and economic characteristics of the Peruvian population with the characteristics of all Hispanics and the U.S. population overall. It is based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the 2008 American Community Survey. Key facts include:

• Immigration status. Seven-in-ten Peruvians (69.3%) in the United States are foreign born compared with 38.1% of Hispanics and 12.5% of the U.S. population overall. Two-thirds of immigrants from Peru (66.1%) arrived in the U.S. in 1990 or later. Four-in-ten Peruvian immigrants (42.3%) are U.S. citizens.

• Language. A majority of Peruvians (55.1%) speak English proficiently.2 Some 44.9% of Peruvians ages 5 and older report speaking English less than very well, compared with 37.3% of all Hispanics.

• Age. Peruvians are similar in age to the U.S. population and older than Hispanics overall. The median age of Peruvians is 35; the median ages of the U.S. population and all Hispanics are 36 and 27, respectively.

• Marital status. Peruvians are more likely than Hispanics overall to be married—50.7% versus 46.5%.

• Fertility. Two-in-ten Peruvian women (19.6%) ages 15 to 44 who gave birth in the 12 months prior to the survey were unmarried. That was less than the rate for all Hispanic women—38.8%—and the rate for U.S. women—34.5%.

• Regional dispersion. Peruvians are more geographically dispersed than other Hispanic origin groups. Two-in-ten Peruvians (19.8%) live in Florida and one-in-six (16.8%) live in California; some one-in-eight live in New Jersey (12.9%) and New York (12.3%).

• Educational attainment. Peruvians have higher levels of education than the Hispanic population overall. Some 29.8% of Peruvians ages 25 and older—compared with 12.9% of all U.S. Hispanics—have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree.

• Income. The median annual personal earnings for Peruvians ages 16 and older were $24,441 in 2008; the median earnings for all U.S. Hispanics were $21,488.

• Poverty status. The share of Peruvians who live in poverty, 9.5%, is lower than the rate of the general U.S. population (12.7%) and the rate among all Hispanics (20.7%).

• Health Insurance. Three-in-ten Peruvians (30.2%) do not have health insurance compared with 31.7% of all Hispanics and 15.4% of the general U.S. population. Additionally, 20.0% of Peruvians younger than 18 are uninsured.

• Homeownership. The rate of Peruvian homeownership (50.1%) is similar to the rate for all Hispanics (49.1%) but lower than the 66.6% rate for the U.S. population as a whole.
Percentages are computed before numbers are rounded.2 Peruvians ages 5 and older who report speaking only English at home or speaking English very well.Source: Pew Research Center

Competitive Intelligence: No Longer Just for Big Business

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Reading a newspaper headline touting a product launch by your main competitor and realizing it’s the same product your company has been working on for months might rank as the worst nightmare of any business owner. Rather than waste time and effort on figuring out how you missed that one, you could try a process known as competitive intelligence to prevent future gaffs. Once reserved for big multinational companies, today’s small business owners are finding competitive intelligence extremely useful.

Not related to the CIA

Hearing the phrase Competitive Intelligence may conjure visions of international spies sneaking around behind your back, tracking your every move. In actuality, the practice is simply gathering data on a competitor through any publicly available source of information. This information will serve two purposes: first to provide a solid idea of a competitor’s plans, and second to avoid any unwelcome surprises.

“There’s a whole misconception: is it industrial espionage? Is it corporate spying? There’s a real desire to move away from that thinking,” says John Parsons, a competitive intelligence consultant and researcher in Montreal, Que. “It’s becoming accepted as a legitimate management practice.”

Get digging

If you decide to hire a competitive intelligence professional, they should sit down with you and discuss what you want to know and what you will do with that information. “Generally, when I’ve done work for a smaller company, it has been that they want to know what their competitor’s sales are,” says Parsons, who is also the president of the Montreal chapter of the Society of Competitive Intelligent Professionals (SCIP). “It can be a simple question such as ‘Is my competitor expanding?’ or ‘Do they have plans to add on to their facility?’ or ‘Are they coming out with any new products next year?’ You don’t want to wake up one morning and find that your competitor has released a new product.”

Once you have established your needs, the next step is to find out where you can get the right answers. When it comes to small business, this is not always an easy process, because these companies are not required to release the same information as public corporations must under the law.

“You really have to go to the basic things like looking at press interviews where someone in one department mentions one thing and someone else in another department mentions another thing. You could even go to the local city hall, for example, and inquire if planning information has been applied for. Some jurisdictions make tax filings available,” says Parsons. Other sources of information include Internet news groups, company websites, and tools such as Performance Plus.

Keep in mind that your competitor could be conducting the same exercise to discover information about your business. Make sure your employees know that confidential information must stay within the office walls. It’s also a good idea to scan your own website or publications where you advertise to see if you are offering clues.

Uncover some bones

“It’s quite common to uncover a company’s intentions by monitoring the news groups, or certain association discussion groups. You can often find members of those groups asking very pointed questions, and those questions indicate something about what the company is thinking. Both online and offline, there are often people monitoring these groups,” says Parsons.

If you have hired a competitive intelligence professional, they will have the time to do extra legwork. Parsons includes talking to different experts, going to trade shows, events, and conferences as part of his own research methods. These professionals may even contact the competitor directly. Under the SCIP code of ethics, consultants are required to identify themselves to anyone they contact.

Examine and analyze

After you or your consultant has dug into every corner and crevice available, it’s time to work with the information. This analysis can take on several different forms, depending on your original needs. It can be a basic competitive profile, or perhaps it will be used to benchmark your company’s performance.

Once you have gone through the process with a competitive intelligence professional, you may find that you know more about your competition than you realized and can conduct the analysis exercise on your own. Parsons finds most small business owners like to take the information they have acquired and move forward on their own. If you hired a consultant who is a specialist in your area, they may be able to offer recommendations and advice beyond the basic data.

“As long as you have the appreciation for what it is and can collect the information creatively, you don’t need to have a massive budget for doing this,” says Parsons.

Some small businesses may find a SWOT analysis useful. By uncovering your competitor’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, you can decide how to best map a course of action to meet those categories. Use the information gathered through competitive intelligence to try to determine how your competitor’s weaknesses can become your strengths.

Source: Canadaone – Michelle Collins

What do you know of Hondurans?

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A total of 608,000 Hispanics of Honduran origin resided in the United States in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

A total of 608,000 Hispanics of Honduran origin resided in the United States in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

A total of 608,000 Hispanics of Honduran origin resided in the United States in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Hondurans in this statistical profile are people who self-identified as Hispanics of Honduran origin; this means either they themselves are Honduran immigrants or they trace their family ancestry to Honduras. Hondurans are the eighth-largest population of Hispanic origin living in the United States, accounting for 1.3% of the U.S. Hispanic population in 2008. Mexicans constituted 30.7 million, or 65.7%, of the Hispanic population.1

This statistical profile compares the demographic, income and economic characteristics of the Honduran population with the characteristics of all Hispanics and the U.S. population overall. It is based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the 2008 American Community Survey. Key facts include:

• Immigration status. Seven-in-ten Hondurans (68.6%) in the United States are foreign born compared with 38.1% of Hispanics and 12.5% of the U.S. population overall. Three-in-four immigrants from Honduras (74.0%) arrived in the U.S. in 1990 or later. Two-in-ten Honduran immigrants (21.9%) are U.S. citizens.

• Language. Four-in-ten Hondurans (39.7%) speak English proficiently.2 Some 60.3% of Hondurans ages 5 and older report speaking English less than very well, compared with 37.3% of all Hispanics.

• Age. Hondurans are younger than the U.S. population and similar in age to Hispanics overall. The median age of Hondurans is 28; the median ages of the U.S. population and all Hispanics are 36 and 27, respectively.

• Marital status. Hondurans are less likely than Hispanics overall to be married—40.6% versus 46.5%.

• Fertility. Four-in-ten (42.5%) of Honduran women ages 15 to 44 who gave birth in the 12 months prior to the survey were unmarried. That was greater than the rate for all Hispanic women—38.8%—and the rate for U.S. women—34.5%.

• Regional dispersion. A majority of Hondurans (54.9%) live in the South, mostly in Florida and Texas. Some one-in-eight Hondurans (12.9%) live in California and in New York (12.5%).

• Educational attainment. Hondurans have lower levels of education than the Hispanic population overall. Some 50.0% of Hondurans ages 25 and older—compared with 39.2% of all U.S. Hispanics—have not obtained at least a high school diploma.

• Income. The median annual personal earnings for Hondurans ages 16 and older were $19,349 in 2008; the median earnings for all U.S. Hispanics were $21,488.

• Poverty status. The share of Hondurans who live in poverty, 21.5%, is higher than the rate for the general U.S. population (12.7%) and similar to the rate for Hispanics overall (20.7%).

• Health Insurance. One-half of Hondurans (49.3%) do not have health insurance compared with 31.7% of all Hispanics and 15.4% of the general U.S. population. Additionally, 26.4% of Hondurans younger than 18 are uninsured.

• Homeownership. The rate of Honduran homeownership (33.9%) is lower than the rate for all Hispanics (49.1%) and the U.S. population (66.6%) as a whole.
Percentages are computed before numbers are rounded. 2 Hondurans ages 5 and older who report speaking only English at home or speaking English very well.Source: Pew Research Center

Meet the Colombians!!!

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A total of 882,000 Hispanics of Colombian origin resided in the United States in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

A total of 882,000 Hispanics of Colombian origin resided in the United States in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

A total of 882,000 Hispanics of Colombian origin resided in the United States in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Colombians in this statistical profile are people who self-identified as Hispanics of Colombian origin; this means either they themselves are Colombian immigrants or they trace their family ancestry to Colombia. Colombians are the seventh-largest population of Hispanic origin living in the United States, accounting for 1.9% of the U.S. Hispanic population in 2008. Mexicans constituted 30.7 million, or 65.7%, of the Hispanic population.1

This statistical profile compares the demographic, income and economic characteristics of the Colombian population with the characteristics of all Hispanics and the U.S. population overall. It is based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the 2008 American Community Survey. Key facts include:

• Immigration status. Two-thirds of Colombians (66.5%) in the United States are foreign born compared with 38.1% of Hispanics and 12.5% of the U.S. population overall. Most immigrants from Colombia (58.7%) arrived in the U.S. in 1990 or later. Less than half of Colombian immigrants (48.8%) are U.S. citizens.

• Language. A majority of Colombians (57.5%) speak English proficiently.2 Some 42.5% of Colombians ages 5 and older report speaking English less than very well, compared with 37.3% of all Hispanics

• Age. Colombians are older than Hispanics overall. The median age of  Colombians is 36, which is the same as the median ages of the U.S. population; the median age of all Hispanics is 27.

• Marital status. Colombians are more likely than Hispanics overall to be married—50.4% versus 46.5%.

• Fertility. One-in-five (21.6%) Colombian women ages 15 to 44 who gave birth in the 12 months prior to the survey were unmarried. That was less than the rate for all Hispanic women—38.8%—and the rate for U.S. women—34.5%.

• Regional dispersion. Colombians are concentrated in the South (46.8%), mostly in Florida (31.9%), and in the Northeast (37.3%), mostly in New York (16.1%) and New Jersey (12.9%).

• Educational attainment. Colombians have higher levels of education than the Hispanic population overall. Some 30.3% of Colombians ages 25 and older—compared with 12.9% of all U.S. Hispanics—have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree.

• Income. The median annual personal earnings for Colombians ages 16 and older were $25,460 in 2008; the median earnings for all U.S. Hispanics were $21,488.

• Poverty status. The share of Colombians who live in poverty, 11.0%, is similar to the rate for the general U.S. population (12.7%) and lower than the rate for Hispanics overall (20.7%).

• Health Insurance. One-quarter of Colombians (26.4%) do not have health insurance compared with 31.7% of all Hispanics and 15.4% of the general U.S. population. Additionally, 16.6% of Colombians younger than 18 are uninsured.

• Homeownership. The rate of Colombian homeownership (53.0%) is higher than the rate for all Hispanics (49.1%) but lower than the 66.6% rate for the U.S. population as a whole.
Percentages are computed before numbers are rounded. 2 Colombians ages 5 and older who report speaking only English at home or speaking English very well. Source: Pew Hispanic

Do you know Guatemalans?

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Flag of Guatemala

Flag of Guatemala

A total of 986,000 Hispanics of Guatemalan origin resided in the United States in 2008, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Guatemalans in this statistical profile are people who self-identified as Hispanics of Guatemalan origin; this means either they themselves are Guatemalan immigrants or they trace their family ancestry to Guatemala. Guatemalans are the sixth-largest population of Hispanic origin living in the United States, accounting for 2.1% of the U.S. Hispanic population in 2008. Mexicans constituted 30.7 million, or 65.7%, of the Hispanic population.
1This statistical profile compares the demographic, income and economic characteristics of the Guatemalan population with the characteristics of all Hispanics and the U.S. population overall. It is based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the 2008 American Community Survey. Key facts include:
• Immigration status. Seven-in-ten Guatemalans (69.4%) in the United States are foreign born compared with 38.1% of Hispanics and 12.5% of the U.S. population overall. Seven-in-ten of immigrants from Guatemala (69.6%) arrived in the U.S. in 1990 or later. Nearly one quarter of Guatemalan immigrants (23.8%) are U.S. citizens.
• Language. Four-in-ten Guatemalans (39.1%) speak English proficiently.2 Some 60.9% of Guatemalans ages 5 and older report speaking English less than very well, compared with 37.3% of all Hispanics.
• Age. Guatemalans are younger than the U.S. population and similar in age to Hispanics overall. The median age of Guatemalans is28; the median ages of the U.S. population and all Hispanics are 36 and 27, respectively.
• Marital status. Less than half of Guatemalans (44.6%) and Hispanics overall (46.5%) are married.
• Fertility. Four-in-ten (41.3%) Guatemalan women ages 15 to 44 who gave birth in the 12 months prior to the survey were unmarried. That was greater than the rate for all Hispanic women—38.8%—and the rate for U.S. women—34.5%.
• Regional dispersion. Four-in-ten Guatemalans (40.2%) live in the West, mostly in California (33.9%). One-third (32.4%) live in the South.
• Educational attainment. Guatemalans have lower levels of education than the Hispanic population overall. Some 53.6% of Guatemalans ages 25 and older—compared with 39.2% of all U.S. Hispanics—have not obtained at least a high school diploma.
• Income. The median annual personal earnings for Guatemalans ages 16 and older were $19,349 in 2008; the median earnings for all U.S. Hispanics were $21,488.
• Poverty status. The share of Guatemalans who live in poverty, 20.6%, is higher than the rate for the general U.S. population (12.7%) and similar to the share for all Hispanics (20.7%).
• Health Insurance. Nearly one-half of Guatemalans (47.9%) do not have health insurance compared with 31.7% of all Hispanics and 15.4% of the general U.S. population. Additionally, 22.8% of Guatemalans younger than 18 are uninsured.
• Homeownership. The rate of Guatemalan homeownership (35.6%) is lower than the rate for all Hispanics (49.1%) and the U.S. population (66.6%) as a whole. 1 Percentages are computed before numbers are rounded. 2 Guatemalans ages 5 and older who report speaking only English at home or speaking English very well.
Source: Pew Hispanic Center