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A Publication of United Way of Salt Lake |
June 14, 2007
With each new Census report or demographic study, it becomes clearer that Utah’s diversity is growing significantly. Utah’s population hit an all-time high of 2.5 million people in 2005, but for the first time, most of the growth was due to in-migration rather than net natural increase (births minus deaths). In fact, the Census Bureau reports that Utah would have experienced a net out-migration from 1997 to 2004 were it not for international immigration. In Davis, Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties, 177,000 residents speak a language other than English, and nearly 40 percent of employers have employees for whom English is not the primary language.
“Language and Cultural Barriers” is one of the 17 priority problems identified in United Way of Salt Lake’s (UWSL) 2007 Community Assessment. Thirteen of the 17 priority problems have grown worse since our previous assessment in 2004, and “Language and Cultural Barriers” is one of the problems that is worsening. It now affects between 97,000 and 265,000 people in Davis, Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties—the service area of UWSL.
Utah’s population of foreign-born residents will continue to grow, and the growth is accelerating. Foreign-born people contributed 20 percent of the state’s population growth in the 1990s, but that percentage increased to about 40 percent in the period between 2000 and 2004, according to Pam Perlich of the University of Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Development. Overall, Utah experienced a 171 percent increase in the foreign-born population from 1990 to 2000.
This new, diverse population is facing many barriers to full participation in our community. Language is one such barrier. In 2000, 81.9 percent of foreign-born people five years of age and older in Utah spoke a language other than English at home. However, the opportunity to learn English is just one of the many resources immigrants and refugees need in order to become integrated into our community.
It is imperative that we help our foreign-born and multi-lingual residents succeed on the job, in school, and in the wider community. Multi-lingual individuals are valuable assets to our state as our economy becomes more global. For these reasons, we must find solutions to help the growing number of immigrants and refugees overcome language barriers and other obstacles to financial stability and self-reliance. Ultimately, strengthening Utah’s immigrant families by ensuring they have the tools, skills, and access to resources necessary to be self-sufficient is critical for the common good and long-term prosperity of our entire community.
Deborah S. Bayle
President and CEO
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COMMUNITY MATTERS |
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With each new Census report or demographic study, it becomes clearer that Utah’s diversity is growing significantly. Utah’s population hit an all-time high of 2.5 million people in 2005, but for the first time, most of the growth was due to in-migration rather than net natural increase (births minus deaths). In fact, the Census Bureau reports that Utah would have experienced a net out-migration from 1997 to 2004 were it not for international immigration. In Davis, Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties, 177,000 residents speak a language other than English, and nearly 40 percent of employers have employees for whom English is not the primary language.
“Language and Cultural Barriers” is one of the 17 priority problems identified in United Way of Salt Lake’s (UWSL) 2007 Community Assessment. Thirteen of the 17 priority problems have grown worse since our previous assessment in 2004, and “Language and Cultural Barriers” is one of the problems that is worsening. It now affects between 97,000 and 265,000 people in Davis, Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties—the service area of UWSL.
Utah’s population of foreign-born residents will continue to grow, and the growth is accelerating. Foreign-born people contributed 20 percent of the state’s population growth in the 1990s, but that percentage increased to about 40 percent in the period between 2000 and 2004, according to Pam Perlich of the University of Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Development. Overall, Utah experienced a 171 percent increase in the foreign-born population from 1990 to 2000.
This new, diverse population is facing many barriers to full participation in our community. Language is one such barrier. In 2000, 81.9 percent of foreign-born people five years of age and older in Utah spoke a language other than English at home. However, the opportunity to learn English is just one of the many resources immigrants and refugees need in order to become integrated into our community.
It is imperative that we help our foreign-born and multi-lingual residents succeed on the job, in school, and in the wider community. Multi-lingual individuals are valuable assets to our state as our economy becomes more global. For these reasons, we must find solutions to help the growing number of immigrants and refugees overcome language barriers and other obstacles to financial stability and self-reliance. Ultimately, strengthening Utah’s immigrant families by ensuring they have the tools, skills, and access to resources necessary to be self-sufficient is critical for the common good and long-term prosperity of our entire community.
Deborah S. Bayle
President and CEO