POPULATION : Economic Equality Still Eluding Latinos : The ethnic group, compared to Anglo-Americans, is facing major barriers to parity, study shows.

Despite their emergence as a political and economic force, Latinos appear to have lost ground over the last decade in their efforts to achieve parity with Anglo-Americans.

A study by the nonprofit Aspen Institute shows that the overall condition of Latino Americans in relation to whites improved or remained stable in only two of 13 major metropolitan areas with large Latino populations: Miami and San Diego.

In the other cities, including Los Angeles, progress toward parity was mixed at best, leading the institute to conclude that Latinos continue to face significant barriers to economic equality in this country.

BACKGROUND: The 1980s have been called the “Decade of the Hispanic” because of the unprecedented wave of immigrants that swept through the United States, causing significant demographic shifts.

By the year 2000, Latinos are expected to constitute more than half of Los Angeles’ projected total population and more than a quarter of San Diego’s. Nationwide, the Latino population is expected to reach 34.8 million--more than double the 1980 census figure.

The Aspen study, “A More Perfect Union,” notes that Latinos already represent the fastest-growing market segment for virtually all consumer goods. By the beginning of the next decade, they will fill most entry-level jobs in major metropolitan areas across the United States.

These numbers have significant implications for the labor force and political Establishment. For example, the six states with the largest Latino populations--Texas, California, Florida, New York, Illinois and New Jersey--cast 173 of the 270 electoral votes needed to elect a President.

“What the report shows is that this group will simply be too powerful to overlook, as we do now,” said Everett McDonough, senior vice president of Security Pacific Corp. in Los Angeles and a contributor to the report.

TREND: Despite the impressive population gains, the report found that Latinos tended to fall farther behind non-Latino white Americans during the last decade in terms of median income, employment, education and home ownership.

Median family income, for example, fell in all but four of 13 major metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles. Nationwide, the number of Latino families living below the poverty line increased by 30 percentage points, while the number of poor Anglo families fell by 10 points.

Based on the yardsticks used in the Aspen study, progress toward parity was greatest in Miami, remained unchanged in San Diego and was mixed in Los Angeles. The least progress was made in Denver, Houston and San Francisco.

“The thing that struck us most about the results was that there was no marked improvement, even in San Diego and Miami,” said Siobhan Nicolau, one of the report’s authors.

In Los Angeles, the report found relative stability despite the explosive population gains for the last decade. Labor force participation remains high, and the ratio of employment to population is unchanged. The number of Latino homeowners rose.

OUTLOOK: The study’s authors note several encouraging signs. Nicolau cited the emergence of a stable Latino middle class in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, even while the Anglo middle class has been slipping.

The major barrier facing Latinos is education. The secondary school dropout rate remains too high, Nicolau said. Yet even without advanced skills, the level of labor force participation by Latinos is impressive, she said.

“There is the dawning realization of the enormous potential of Hispanics,” she said. “Businesses are going to realize that they had better get these people trained and educated for practical reasons for the health of the nation, because they are going to make up most of the labor force.”

The Income Gap 1987 median family income Figures in thousands of dollars Chicago White non-Latino: 41,247 Latino: 20,700 Gap: 20,574 Dallas White non-Latino: 43,750 Latino: 19,000 Gap: 24,750 Denver White non-Latino: 38,595 Latino: 24,962 Gap: 13,633 Houston White non-Latino: 46,124 Latino: 19,000 Gap: 27,124 Los Angeles White non-Latino: 41,100 Latino: 22,030 Gap: 19,070 Miami White non-Latino: 37,924 Latino: 22,500 Gap: 15,424 New York White non-Latino: 40,224 Latino: 16,000 Gap: 24,224 San Diego White non-Latino: 34,080 Latino: 24,122 Gap: 9,958 San Francisco White non-Latino: 43,000 Latino: 29,000 Gap: 14,000 Source: The Aspen institute report.