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Reports & Issue Briefs

Entrepreneurship and business creation are fundamental to a dynamic economy. Companies less than five years old create an average of 1.5 million new jobs each year. Hispanic Americans are helping to drive this engine of job creation. Nearly 1 in 4 new businesses—which provide critical sources of new jobs—are Hispanic-owned, and the nearly 5 million Hispanic-owned businesses contribute over $800 billion to the American economy annually. In the decade preceding the pandemic, the number of Hispanic business owners increased 34% compared to an increase of just 1% among non-Hispanic business owners.
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) dramatically increased the value of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), from $2,000 per child to up to $3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child aged 6-17. The ARP also expanded the CTC so that it is now fully refundable, and previously ineligible low-income families will receive the full credit. Half of the expanded CTC is being distributed in advance via monthly payments, helping families meet their financial needs in real time. The Treasury Department has delivered $61 billion to families across the country thus far.
Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases national and state-level data on U.S. employment, which provide useful information about the state of the labor market and progress toward building back better.

To highlight key trends in the monthly data, the Joint Economic Committee compiles state-by-state fact sheets for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
High-quality, accessible child care creates a number of economic and socioeconomic benefits on both individual and national levels. Underinvestment in child care and the resulting high prices have prevented the United States from fully realizing those benefits, constraining future economic growth.
As the country observes Hispanic Heritage Month, it is important to celebrate the strength and resilience of Hispanic Americans while also recognizing the barriers to economic security that still stand in the way of a more equitable economy. The persistent wealth gap between white and Hispanic families, even more so than the gaps in income and employment, serves as a barrier to opportunity, obstructing a wide range of positive economic outcomes. The 61 million Hispanics in the United States, nearly 19 percent of the total population, hold disproportionately less wealth than their white peers: The median wealth, or net worth, of white families is five times higher than the median net worth of Hispanic families, and the wealth gap between white and Hispanic families is even more pronounced (six times as large) when average net worth is considered.