Thread: Downturn hurts migrant workers in construction

Downturn hurts migrant workers in construction
By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 06/05/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT




Mexican immigrant workers, especially those in construction, are among people hit hardest by the U.S. economic downturn, according to a Pew Hispanic Center report released Wednesday.

But in El Paso, which does not always mirror nationwide trends, the job outlook for the region's largely Hispanic population is mostly favorable.

The Pew Hispanic Center said the jobless rate nationwide for Mexican immigrants jumped to 8.4 percent from 5.5 percent last year.

That meant about 255,000 Hispanic immigrants, most of them of Mexican descent, joined the ranks of the unemployed. An overwhelming majority of jobs lost in the construction industry were held by foreign-born Hispanics.

"Immigrant Hispanics, especially Mexican immigrants and recent arrivals, have been hurt the most by the slump in the construction industry," said Rakesh Kochhar, the Pew's associate director for research. "Weekly earnings for most groups of Hispanic workers, particularly construction workers, also slipped backward in the past year."

The Pew said the national jobless rate for all Hispanic immigrants was 7.5 percent during the first months of this year, compared with 6.9 percent among native-born Hispanics. Hispanic women were even more vulnerable to the recession than Hispanic men,



the report said.
"It's just the opposite in El Paso, because we are having a booming construction industry," said David Coronado, an analyst for Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande in El Paso. "This (positive) trend is expected to continue with the growth of Fort Bliss and overall growth. We also have a good supply of construction workers."

El Paso's jobless rate was 5.2 percent in April, slightly better than the 5.9 percent rate for the same month last year.

Coronado's office did not have statistics for the number of foreign-born Hispanic workers in El Paso, but a 2005 Federal Reserve report said immigrants (most of them from Mexico) accounted for 31.5 percent of El Paso's population.

Manufacturing, which has been affected by the recession, has had layoffs on both sides of the border. Some maquiladoras are closing or temporarily slowing production.

"We see positive job growth in the retail, health and education sectors," Coronado said.

Things are less clear in agriculture, which traditionally draws from Mexican immigrant workers.

"We know of employers in the Lower Valley and in New Mexico who are asking for workers, but our farmworkers keep telling us they can't find jobs," Carlos Marentes, director of the Centro de Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos (Border Farm Workers Center) in South El Paso. "It seems that the workers are not hooking up with the right employers."

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande has developed partnerships with the Border Farm Workers Center and La Mujer Obrera Center to help displaced manufacturing and agricultural workers learn new job skills and find employment.

"We have a job fair coming up that (targets) the Chamizal neighborhood area," said Rosa Rodriguez, a coordinator for Workforce Solutions.

The Pew Hispanic Center report did not distinguish between documented and undocumented immigrants. The Pew Hispanic Center is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C., and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.









http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_9482915

Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande has developed partnerships with the Border Farm Workers Center and La Mujer Obrera Center to help displaced manufacturing and agricultural workers learn new job skills and find employment.

"We have a job fair coming up that (targets) the Chamizal neighborhood area," said Rosa Rodriguez, a coordinator for Workforce Solutions.

I don't know why this would surprise me. These are unskilled jobs and most of the workers are illegal aliens. This Workforce Solutions is having a job fair for ILLEGAL ALIENS? HELLO?? ICE???

The jobs for IAs are gone, GO HOME!

These people upset me so much . What about the American Construction worker ? You know , the person you Illegals ran out of business. And there job fairs , Illegals and Latinos only ! Thats Racist as can be . When we hold job fairs there for everybody . This picture is Racist and selfserving for one culture and it's not American culture .
ICE should purchase a booth at the job fair.Boy will them people Cry ! There chief import "Whining and Crying" followed closely by depressed wages .

And there job fairs , Illegals and Latinos only ! Thats Racist as can be .

Seriously......that is insane.....job fairs for latinos only? Hey I want my white people job fair. My white people only job training for better jobs. This latino group needs to be chopped off at the knees for this. Where's the ACLU or the law suits stopping this? When the economy goes down EVERYBODY gets hurts.....it hits ALL jobs. I am so sick of this latino boo-hoo business, as if everybody else isn't hurting too. Heck.....and they aren't even supposed to be here!!!!!!!!!