Hiring by Region and Latino Representation in the Defense Contract Audit Agency

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Abstract

This study investigates the recent large increase in Latino-American employee representation in the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). For decades Latino-Americans were the only minority racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the overall federal workforce. In the DCAA, however, their numbers increased from around 5% in 2010 to around 24% in 2018. Using panel data and fixed effects regression, we found that Latino employment is higher in states with larger Latino populations, that minority group competition was not an important factor in Latino employee gains, and that yearly increases in overall (race-neutral) agency employment were concentrated in states with larger Latino populations. This study suggests that agencies interested in improving the representation of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups should consider, if possible, prioritizing new hiring in regions where those groups are most present in the general population.

Author

• Lawrence Allen Brown, University of Illinois at Chicago