Home > The Border Line > Archives > 2008 > June > 04 > Entry
Study: Economic downturn hitting Latinos hard
The nation’s economic downturn — especially a slump in the construction industry — is having a disproportionate impact on Hispanic workers, a study released Wednesday found.
Hispanics have lost nearly 250,000 jobs over the past year in the construction sector alone, pushing their unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) to 6.5 percent in the first quarter of this year. By comparison, the unemployment rate for non-Hispanics was 4.7 percent, said the study by the Pew Hispanic Center, a non-partisan research group in Washington.
“Hispanics had a rough time in the labor market in 2007,” said Rakesh Kochhar, associate director for research at the Pew Hispanic Center and author of the report.
Latino immigrants, especially Mexicans and recent arrivals, have been hurt the most, said the study.
Despite the increase in unemployment, there are no signs that Latinos are are leaving the labor force, the study found.
“For now, they are here and actively looking for work,” Kochhar said.
Immigrants in the study include all foreign-born people living in the United States, including those who are in the United States illegally. The study does not identify whether the workers are legal or illegal because the source material from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not include that information.
The Pew Hispanic Center has estimated that illegal immigrants account for about 5 percent of the U.S. workers and about one-third of foreign-born workers. Illegal immigrants are over-represented in certain industries such as construction where they account for 12 percent of employees.
See the study here.
Comments
Click here to report comment abuse.
By Campbell
June 4, 2008 2:44 PM | Link to this
My question is why is Eunice Moscoso making this a racial and or ethnic issue? I guess what is missing in a lot of these editorials is why businesses feel it necessary and to go unchallenged to import illegal labor. In most cases the companies that use illegal labor are not an integral part of a community. If they were an integral part then of course they would be hiring American workers because there would be a need for that industry to build in that community. Instead Americans end up subsidizing illegal labor for industry who’s only concern is profit. You build for the community and not for industries sake or for profit only. So when I read an editorial that’s laced with ethnic tags and has nothing to do with the industry period then I question the motive of the writer as to why the article was written in the first place. If I was going to write an article about the downturn of an industry, a workers race or ethnicity would never be considered or come into play. In many ways it would be bias and even borderline racist to mention it.
By Larry
June 4, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this
The article mentions latinos and then mentions the total include Americans and illegals. Why? The total is unimportant. What is important is the number of American hispanics/latinos who are out of work. We have been saying for quite awhile when we enter a recession that jobs will be fought for. Americans should come first, if more workers are needed then we can turn to alien workers who want to work.
By L1M89
June 4, 2008 11:07 PM | Link to this
[‘What is important is the number of American hispanics/latinos who are out of work.’] It’s American workers not hyphenated ethnic groups that must be listed as employed or not. American workers must be united against our USA being Balkanized by globalists & unscrupulous employers who utilize Illegal Aliens as economic slaves.
By george
June 9, 2008 9:31 AM | Link to this
There are many people out of work in many professions, such as teachers. Why do we single out the illegals? It looks to me like the Hispanic people in Colorado still have jobs.