The Hmong, are one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in Michigan; their numbers more than doubled during the 1990s, from 2,300 to 5,400. Concentrated in Detroit, Pontiac and Warren, many live in poverty and have turned to schools and social service agencies for help, forcing the financially strained institutions to expand services. With no transportation, and few job skills, they do menial work at nearby factories. Nearly half the Hmong in Michigan have less than a ninth grade education, according to Kurt Metzger, director of the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University.