New York City is hiring. Latinos, ¡ojo!
Mayor Mamdani’s new Jobs NYC Center offers more than a response to thousands of municipal vacancies. It is a chance to examine generational disparity and occupational segregation in city government: which jobs Latino New Yorkers hold, where they work and who advances.
Today, Latinos make up 28.5% of the population and are steadily growing. Their share is even larger among young New Yorkers: according to City Planning’s The Newest New Yorkers, Latinos account for 34% of residents under 18 and 33% of those ages 18–24.
The workforce gap “feo pa’ la foto.”
Latinos make up only about 21% of the municipal workforce, as examined by the New York City Equal Employment Practices Commission (EEPC). Across 10 major agencies employing more than 86,000 New Yorkers, they hold just 20% of positions. If representation matched their share of the city’s working age population, those agencies would employ approximately 5,300 more Latino workers, a 30% increase.
This population-based comparison measures neither vacancies nor discrimination. Qualifications and labor-market availability matter. But the persistent gap warrants scrutiny and is corroborated by multiple measures.
Consider the NYPD: Latinos account for approximately 30% of its employees, compared with just 15% at Environmental Protection, 13% at the Law Department and 18% at Social Services. What explains these differences?
The disparities extend beyond hiring and are exacerbated at higher ranks. Latinos represent about 14% of municipal manager-type roles (such as administrative engineer) and 8% of lawyers in the workforce examined. Their median compensation trails that of white and Asian employees. More than one-third of Latino employees with more than 20 years of service have no recorded promotion under the city’s personnel-data definition.
The stakes extend beyond a paycheck. Public-service careers offer competitive salaries, health benefits, and defined benefit pensions that can support economic mobility across generations. When Latino New Yorkers have fewer opportunities to enter and advance in these careers, families and communities lose access to earnings, retirement security and wealth creation.
The city loses, too: drawing on residents’ expertise, languages and lived experience can strengthen public trust, responsiveness and service delivery which are all critical hallmarks of representative democracy.
City Hall, ¡ojo!
The administration should review Latino recruitment, hiring, advancement and retention agency by agency, using appropriate labor-market benchmarks. Agencies should use disaggregated, intersectional data to identify barriers, set measurable goals and report progress; broaden recruitment, improve onboarding, promote civil-service exams, and create clearer paths for professional growth.
Latino leaders inside and outside government should mobilize. Those who have benefited from public-service careers can mentor, sponsor and coach the next generation, demystifying civil-service exams and opening professional networks.
I have long argued that NYC public service offers an extraordinary combination of scale and significance: using one’s talents to improve millions of lives while securing a future for one’s family and community.
New York needs Latino scientists, planners, engineers, attorneys, analysts, managers and leaders who reflect its population and strengthen government for everyone.
The talent is here. The disparities are undeniable. The opportunity is extraordinary. What is needed now is the institutional resolve to close these gaps with a sense of urgency, precision and sustained commitment.
City government must open pathways to opportunity. Latino leaders must illuminate them. A new generation must be empowered to pursue them.
Latinos need apply. And then land the jobs and serve.
Bonilla is the commissioner and chair of the NYC Equal Employment Practices Commission.