how does ability to speak english affect earnings? jennifer cheeseman day and hyon b. shin...
TRANSCRIPT
How Does Ability to Speak English
Affect Earnings?
Jennifer Cheeseman Day and Hyon B. Shin
Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau
2
The Number of People Speaking a Language Other Than English in the US has Increased Dramatically.
In 2000, the percentage of people in the US who spoke a language other than English at home was 18 percent, up from 14 percent in 1990, and 11 percent in 1980.
Among people who spoke a language other than English at home in 2000, 55 percent also spoke English “very well,” 22 percent “well,” 16 percent “not well,” and 7 percent “not at all.”
In 2000, 16 percent of the labor force spoke a language other than English at home.
For many reasons, the ability to speak English may affect a person’s ability to make money.
3
Analytic Questions
1. Does English-speaking ability affect employment status, work status, and earnings?
2. Do these relationships hold across a variety of personal characteristics which themselves relate to employment and earnings?
3. Do the relationships between English-speaking ability and employment status, work status, and earnings differ among various language groups?
4
DATA
Distributed to 1 in 6 housing units
Collected data from a national sample of nearly 43.5 million individuals, weighted to represent the total US population in 2000 of 281 million
Included questions on language and English-speaking ability; labor force and work status; and earnings
Provided the largest sample ever for analysis of English-speaking ability and earnings
Census 2000 Long Form
5
Three Universes of Analysis
Selection criteria:
Age 25 and older in the labor force in 2000
115 million people
Age 25 and older working at any time in 1999 126 million people
Age 25 and older working full-time year round with earnings in 1999
81 million people
Categories containing less than 50 sample cases were not included in analysis
6
Independent variables
English-Speaking Ability
Age
Sex
Race/Hispanic origin
Educational Attainment
Occupation
Nativity
Employment Status in 2000 Employed Not employed
Work Status in 1999 Full time, year round Part time, part year
Annual Earnings in 1999
Dependent variables
7
Language and English-Speaking Ability Language write-ins were
coded to about 380 detailed language categories.
We use the standard classification list of 39 categories, showing data for specific languages with the most numerous speakers.
English-speaking ability represents the person’s own perception about his or her ability to speak English.
8
Employment Status in 2000
The “employed” population includes civilians who either were “at work” or were “with a job but not at work.”
The “unemployed” includes people who were not employed and looking for work or were on temporary layoff.
9
Work Status & Annual Earnings in 1999 Work status includes people who
worked at any time in 1999.
Full-time, year-round workers consisted of people who usually worked 35 hours or more per week for 50 to 52 weeks in 1999.
Earnings were defined as the sum of wages, salary income, and net income from self employment.
Median annual earnings were either interpolated from a frequency distribution of unrounded data, or in some cases with smaller cell sizes, constructed as point quantiles and rounded to two significant digits.
10
1. Does English-speaking ability affect employment status, work status, and earnings?
Yes.
Employment status, work status, and earnings varied directly with the ability to speak English.
People who spoke a language other than English at home…
were less likely to be employed
were less likely to be employed full time
experienced lower median earnings
Differences between those who spoke English “very well” and English-only speakers were relatively small.
11
Employment Status: 2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
Percent in Labor Force Employed
87.1
91.6
93.9
95.1
93.8
96.0
95.7
Not at all
Not well
Well
Very well
Ability to Speak English
Spoke another language
Spoke only English
Total 25 and older
12
Work Status: 1999
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
Percent Work Full-Year, Full-Time
41.5
50.5
56.3
62.7
58.0
65.8
64.5
Not at all
Not well
Well
Very well
Ability to Speak English
Spoke another language
Spoke only English
Total 25 and older
13
Median Annual Earnings in 1999Median Annual Earnings of Full-Time, Year-Round Workers
$16,315
$20,956
$27,242
$34,251
$29,600
$35,217
$34,126
Not at all
Not well
Well
Very well
Ability to Speak English
Spoke another language
Spoke only English
Total 25 and older
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
14
2. Do these relationships hold across a variety of personal characteristics which themselves relate to employment and earnings?
Yes.
Across a range of personal characteristics, the positive relationships hold true.
Within each characteristic, English-only speakers and people who spoke English “very well” almost always had a higher percentage employed, a higher percentage working full time, and higher median earnings.
15
Percent Employed by English-Speaking Ability for People 25 Years and Older in the Labor Force
Age
Sex
Race and Hispanic Origin
Education
Occupation
Nativity
Age of Entry
Years in United States
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
25 to 34 years
25 to 44 years
45 to 54 years
55 to 64 years
65 and older
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Male
Female
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
White alone non-HispanicBlack alone non-HispanicAsian alone non-HispanicHispanic
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Less than high school diplomaHigh school/some collegeBachelors or more
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
ManagerServiceSalesFarmerConstructionProduction
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Native
Foreign born
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Less than age 18
18 or older
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
5 years or less6 to 10 years11 to 15 years16 to 20 years21 years or more
16
Percent Working Full Time, Year Round by English-Speaking Ability for Employed People 25 Years and Older
Age
Sex
Race and Hispanic Origin
Education
Occupation
Nativity
Age of Entry
Years in United States
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Male
Female
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Less than high school diplomaHigh school/some collegeBachelor or more
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Native
Foreign born
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Less than age 18
18 or older
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
25 to 34 years
35 to 44 years
45 to 54 years
55 to 64 years
65 or older
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
White alone non-HispanicBlack alone non-HispanicAsian alone non-HispanicHispanic
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
ManagerServiceSalesFarmerConstructionProduction
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
5 years or less6 to 10 years11 to 15 years16 to 20 years21 years or more
17
Median Annual Earnings by English-Speaking Ability for Full-time, Year-round Workers Age 25 and Older
Age
Sex
Race and Hispanic Origin
Education
Occupation
Nativity
Age of Entry
Years in United States
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
25 to 34 years
35 to 44 years
45 to 54 years
55 to 64 years
65 or older
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Male
Female
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
White alone non-HispanicBlack alone non-HispanicAsian alone non-HispanicHispanic
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Less than high school diplomaHigh school/some collegeBachelor or more
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
ManagerServiceSalesFarmerConstructionProduction
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Native
Foreign born
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
Less than age 18
18 or older
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
English only Very well Well Not well Not at all
5 years or less
6 to 10 years
11 to 15 years
16 to 20 years
21 years or more
18
Regressions Models 1 and 2 show that speaking a non-English
language:
Lowers the probability of employment
Lowers the probability of finding full-time work
Increases the employment penalty as English-speaking ability decreases.
Model 3 illustrates that:
Speaking a non-English language reduces earnings
The earnings penalty increases as English-speaking ability decreases.
19
Models Model 1.
Odds of the probability of employment
All models include controls of age, sex, race/origin, education, age of entry, years in United States, and occupation.
Model 2. Odds of the probability of full-time year-round
employment
Model 3. Relationship between logged earnings and
ability
0.000
0.100
0.200
0.300
0.400
0.500
0.600
0.700
0.800
0.900
1.000
Very well Well Not well Not at all
0.000
0.100
0.200
0.300
0.400
0.500
0.600
0.700
0.800
0.900
1.000
Very well Well Not well Not at all
-0.3500
-0.3000
-0.2500
-0.2000
-0.1500
-0.1000
-0.0500
0.0000
Very well Well Not well Not at all
20
3. Do the relationships between English-speaking ability and employment status, work status, and earnings differ among various language groups?
To a great extent, no.
Each higher level of English-speaking ability associates with a rise in employment and earnings across nearly all 39 language groups.
Those who also spoke English “very well” realized higher rates of employment, higher rates of full-time employment, and higher median earnings than those who spoke English less well.
For people who spoke English “very well,” the specific non-English language spoken does not substantially influence their employment status and work status, but median annual earnings differed across languages.
21
Percent Employed by English-Speaking Ability for Language Groups: 2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
70.0
75.0
80.0
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
Other W
. Germ
anic*
Chines
e
Hindi
Other A
sian
Greek
Scand
inavia
n*
Persian
Gujarathi
Other I
ndic
German
Korean
Polish
Japa
nese
Thai
Tagalog
Hebre
w*
Italia
n
Portugu
ese
Russia
n
Urdu
Other S
lavic
Vietna
mese
Serbo-C
roatia
n
Armenia
n
Other I
ndoEuro
pean
French
Hungari
an*
Other la
nguag
es
Mon-Khmer, C
ambodian
Laotia
n
Arabic
Miao, H
mong
African L
anguages
Spanish
Other P
acific
Island
s
Yiddish
*
French
Cre
ole
Other N
ative A
merica
n*
Navajo*
* English ability of "Not at all" for language groups with less than 50 sample cases are not shown.Note: Languages ranked on the "very well" category.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
Very well
Well
Not well
Not at all
22
Percent Full-Time, Year-Round Workers by English-Speaking Ability for Language Groups: 2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
Gujar
athi
Chines
e
Laot
ian
Hindi*
Vietna
mes
e
Other
Asia
n
Mon
-Khm
er, C
ambo
dian
Persia
n*
Fren
ch C
reole
Russia
n
Polish
Urdu*
Other
Indi
c
Portu
gues
e
Arabic
Greek
Italia
n
Serbo
-Cro
atia
nTh
ai*
Other
W. G
erm
anic*
Taga
log
Germ
an
Other
Indo
Europ
ean
Korea
n
Hebre
w *
Fren
ch
Other
Sla
vic
Hunga
rian*
Spani
sh
Armen
ian
Other
lang
uage
s
Other
Pac
ific Is
land
s
Africa
n La
ngua
ges
Japa
nese
Miao
, Hm
ong
Scand
inavia
n*
Other
Nat
ive A
mer
ican*
Navaj
o*
Yiddish
*
* English ability of "Not at all" for language groups with less than 50 sample cases are not shown.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
Very well
Well
Not well
Not at all
23
Median Annual Earnings for Full-Time, Year-Round Workers by English-Speaking Ability for Language Groups: 2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
$60,000
$70,000
Oth
er A
sian
lang
uage
sH
indi
*Per
sian*
Chi
nese
Heb
rew*
Oth
er In
dic
lang
uage
sG
ujar
athi
Rus
sian
Scand
inav
ian
lang
uage
s*U
rdu*
Japa
nese
Gre
ekArm
enia
n*H
unga
rian*
Yiddi
sh*
Arabi
cIta
lian
Korea
n
Oth
er S
lavic
lang
uage
s
Oth
er W
est G
erm
anic
lang
uage
s*Pol
ish
Oth
er a
nd u
nspe
cifie
d la
ngua
ges
Oth
er In
do-E
urop
ean
lang
uage
s
Vietn
ames
eTa
galo
g
Fren
ch (i
ncl.
Patoi
s, C
ajun
)G
erm
an
Serbo
-Cro
atia
n
Portu
gues
e or
Por
tugu
ese
Creol
eTh
ai*
Africa
n la
ngua
ges
Oth
er P
acifi
c Is
land
lang
uage
s*
Spani
sh o
r Spa
nish
Cre
ole
Mon
-Khm
er, C
ambo
dian
Fren
ch C
reol
eLa
otia
n
Mia
o, H
mon
g+A6
Oth
er N
ativ
e Nor
th A
mer
ican
lang
uage
s*N
avaj
o*
* English ability of "Not at all" for language groups with less than 50 sample cases are not shown.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
Very wellWellNot wellNot at all
24
Education and English-Speaking Ability
In the next figure, the language groups are ordered by average earnings, as in the previous earnings figure.
Notice the downward slope from left to right of the percentage of people who spoke English “very well” and had a bachelor’s degree or more education.
In contrast, notice a sharply rising line of people without a high school diploma.
Thus, the language groups listed on the far left, those with the higher earning levels, contain mostly people with higher education.
Conversely, the language groups on the right, with the lowest median earnings, have fewer highly educated members and proportionally more high school dropouts
25
Educational Attainment for Full-Time, Year-Round Workers Who Spoke English “Very Well” by Language Groups: 2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
Oth
er A
sian
lang
uage
sHin
di
Persia
n
Chine
se
Hebre
w
Oth
er In
dic la
ngua
ges
Guja
rath
i
Russia
n
Scand
inav
ian
lang
uage
sUrd
u
Japa
nese
Gre
ek
Armen
ian
Hunga
rian
Yiddis
h
Arabi
cIta
lian
Korea
n
Oth
er S
lavic
lang
uage
s
Oth
er W
est G
erm
anic
langu
ages
Polish
Oth
er a
nd u
nspe
cifie
d lan
guag
es
Oth
er In
do-E
urop
ean la
nguag
es
Vietn
amese
Tagal
og
Frenc
h (in
cl. P
atoi
s, Caj
un)
Ger
man
Serbo
-Cro
atia
n
Portu
gues
e or P
ortu
gues
e Cre
oleTha
i
Africa
n la
ngua
ges
Oth
er P
acific
Islan
d lan
guage
s
Spanis
h or
Spa
nish
Cre
ole
Mon
-Khm
er, C
ambo
dian
Frenc
h Cre
ole
Laot
ian
Mia
o, H
mon
g
Oth
er N
ative
Nor
th A
meric
an la
ngua
ges
Navajo
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
Percent with Bachelor's degreePercent with less than high school diploma
26
Earnings Controlling for Education
In the final figure, the original sloping line of “very well” speakers is closest to the top line of speakers with a bachelor’s degree or more at the far left. This reflects the previous figure where the groups on the left had very high proportions (close to 85 percent) with a bachelor’s degree or more. On the right, the original line comes very close to the lower line, reflecting the greater weight of people with no high school diploma in those groups.
For each language group, those with a bachelor’s degree or more education earned more than workers who did not have a high school diploma.
The lowest line suggests that not having a high school education equally affects the earnings of all language groups.
27
Median Annual Earnings for Full-Time, Year-Round Workers Who Spoke English “Very Well” by Education Level: 2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
Oth
er A
sian
lang
uage
sHin
di
Persia
n
Chine
se
Hebre
w
Oth
er In
dic la
ngua
ges
Guja
rath
i
Russia
n
Scand
inav
ian
lang
uage
sUrd
u
Japa
nese
Gre
ek
Armen
ian
Hunga
rian
Yiddis
h
Arabi
cIta
lian
Korea
n
Oth
er S
lavic
lang
uage
s
Oth
er W
est G
erm
anic
langu
ages
Polish
Oth
er a
nd u
nspe
cifie
d lan
guag
es
Oth
er In
do-E
urop
ean la
nguag
es
Vietn
amese
Tagal
og
Frenc
h (in
cl. P
atoi
s, Caj
un)
Ger
man
Serbo
-Cro
atia
n
Portu
gues
e or P
ortu
gues
e Cre
oleTha
i
Africa
n la
ngua
ges
Oth
er P
acific
Islan
d lan
guage
s
Spanis
h or
Spa
nish
Cre
ole
Mon
-Khm
er, C
ambo
dian
Frenc
h Cre
ole
Laot
ian
Mia
o, H
mon
g
Oth
er N
ative
Nor
th A
meric
an la
ngua
ges
Navajo
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census.
With Bachelor's degree or moreSpoke English "very well"With less than high school diploma
28
Summary English-speaking ability influences a worker’s ability to succeed,
regardless of the particular language spoken at home.
The degree to which a person can communicate in English influences employment status, and once employed, his or her ability to find full-time, year-round employment.
Even among those who have full employment, those with the highest ability to speak English have the highest earnings. These earnings approach the earnings of English-only speakers.
Research note:
Even marginal movements within the English-speaking ability scale predict corresponding movements in key social indicators, such as employment and earnings. This suggests that the present question successfully captures much of the underlying social phenomena which English-speaking ability represents. The English-speaking ability indicator may prove useful to other researchers interested in assimilation, social stratification, or employment issues.
Contact Information
Jennifer Cheeseman Day: [email protected]
Hyon B. Shin: [email protected]
Phone: 301-763-2464
Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau