Migrant Labor Feels the Squeeze in U.S.
This week our friends at The Economist take a look at the way the economy's downturn is affecting migrant laborers in the United States by viewing the dynamic though one man's eyes. Carlos Pirir, a Guatemalan, used to make good money at a high-rise construction job in downtown Miami. According to Mexico's central bank, over 20% of Mexican migrants in America work in construction. Now, with decently-paying construction jobs harder and harder to find, Mr. Pirir competes for labor jobs on a day-to-day basis . Whereas Mr. Pirir used to send $600.00 per month in remittances home to his wife and seven children, now he is only able to afford $200 per month. In fact, it should come as no surprise, but Latinos are among this economy's hardest hit. Some economic statistics and the immigration-related impacts, as cited by The Economist:
- The unemployment rate among all Hispanics rose to 8.8% in October, well above the national unemployment rate of 6.5%;
- The Mexican government said last week that the number of its citizens who left to live abroad this year was down more than 40% compared with 2006; and
- The American Border Patrol says it caught 18% fewer people in the fiscal year that ended in September than in the one before.
Apparently Mr. Pirir has seen enough. He's saving money to pay for his return travel home to Guatemala.
