Latinos Found Both Gaining, Losing Status

Eight years of prosperity lifted Latinos to new heights of wealth and education, the government has reported, but they also were more likely than other Americans to be poor, undereducated laborers.

A new Census Bureau study drew an extraordinarily sharp contrast between the extremes of Latino economic success and failure. It showed that Latinos shared in the economic boom that dominated the 1980s. But their slice of prosperity was smaller than the rest of the country’s.

Latino buying power increased by 70% from the start of the boom in 1982 until its end in 1990, nearly three times the increase for other Americans. The figures were adjusted to take into account the effects of inflation.

The study, released Thursday, listed facts that showed the rapid rise in Latino financial clout left many people behind:

--Latinos were twice as likely as other Americans to be poor. Latino children were three times as likely to live in poverty.

--One in three Latino men worked as a laborer, machine operator or similar job, compared with one in five for other men.

But among positive facts, the Census Bureau found:

--In 1990, one in seven Latino households had $50,000 or more in income. Eight years earlier, one in nine took in that much money.

--One in six Latinos was unemployed in 1982. By 1990, that number had shrunk to one in 10.