Latinos, also referred to as Hispanics, lived in North Carolina in relatively small numbers until the 1980s, when many people of Mexican and Central American descent began coming to the state in search of seasonal farm work. By the end of the twentieth century, Latinos had become the fastest growing minority group in the state, their numbers increasing by 35 percent annually. Overall, the number of North Carolina Latinos rose from 76,726 in 1990 to an estimated 600,000 by the early 2000s, with ever-increasing political, cultural, and economic influence attending that growth.