In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad, completed on May 10, 1869. In 1992, Congress expanded the observance to a monthlong celebration. Per a 1997 Office of Management and Budget directive, the Asian or Pacific Islander racial category was separated into two categories: one being Asian and the other Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.
Here are some facts about each group from the U.S. Census Bureau:
Asians
In July 2007, there was an estimated 15.2 million U.S. residents who said they were Asian alone or Asian in combination with one or more other races. This group comprised about five percent of the total population.
The Asian population grew 2.9 percent between 2006 and 2007, the highest of any race group during that time period. The increase in the Asian population during the period totaled 434,000.
There were 3.54 million Asians of Chinese descent in the U.S. in 2007. Chinese-Americans were the largest Asian group, followed by Filipinos (3.05 million), Asian Indians (2.77 million), Vietnamese (1.64 million), Koreans (1.56 million) and Japanese (1.22 million). These estimates represented the number of people who were either of a particular Asian group only or were of that group in combination with one or more other Asian groups or races.
There were 1.1 million businesses owned by Asian-Americans in 2002, up 24 percent from 1997. The rate of increase in the number of Asian-owned businesses was about twice that of the national average for all businesses.
Asian-American-owned businesses brought in more than $326 billion in 2002, up 8 percent from 1997. An estimated 319,468 Asian-owned businesses had paid employees, and their receipts totaled more than $291 billion. There were 49,636 Asian-owned firms with receipts of $1 million or more, accounting for 4 percent of the total number of Asian-owned firms and nearly 68 percent of their total receipts.
In 2002, more than three in 10 Asian-owned firms operated in professional, scientific and technical services, as well as other services, such as personal services, and repair and maintenance.
There were 2.2 million people employed by an Asian-owned business. There were 1,866 Asian-owned firms with 100 or more employees, generating nearly $52 billion in gross receipts (18 percent of the total revenue for Asian-owned employer firms).
It is projected that in 2050, 40.6 million U.S. residents will identify themselves as Asian or Asian in combination with one or more other races. They would comprise 9 percent of the total population by that year.
It is projected that there will be a 153 percent increase between 2008 and 2050 in the population of people who identify themselves as Asian or Asian in combination with one or more other races. This compares with a 44 percent increase in the population as a whole over the same period of time.
Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders
There is an estimated 1 million U.S. residents in July 2007 who said they were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, either alone or in combination with one or more other races. This group comprised 0.3 percent of the total population.
There were 28,948 Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned businesses in 2002, up 49 percent from 1997. The rate of growth was more than three times the national average. The 3,693 Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned businesses with paid employees employed more than 29,000 and generated revenues of $3.5 billion.
In 2002, nearly 21,000 Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms operated in health care and social assistance; other services (such as personal services, and repair and maintenance); retail trade; administrative and support, and waste management and remediation services; professional, scientific and technical services; and construction.
There are 28 Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms with 100 or more employees. These firms generated $698 million in gross receipts — 20 percent of the total revenue for Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned employer firms.