A new report by the Pew Hispanic Center says unemployment among Latinos in the U.S. has jumped during the last year. The study says Mexican immigrants have suffered most. KPBS reporter Amy Isackson has the story.
The unemployment rate for Latinos in the United States rose to six-and-a-half percent in the first quarter of this year.
That’s nearly two points higher than the unemployment rate for the general population. It comes after the gap shrunk to an historic low of just five-tenths of a point in 2006.
The Pew study attributes this latest job loss among Latinos to the slowdown in the construction industry.
For many years, construction has been the mainstay of job growth for Latino workers, especially for Mexican immigrants.
The report says those jobs have dried up during the last year. 90 percent of Latinos who lost jobs in construction were immigrants. Latino construction workers now earn less than they did in 2006.
The increase in unemployment and decrease in wages means Mexicans living in the U.S. sent less money to Mexico during the first few months of this year compared to last.
The Bank of Mexico predicts money from the U.S. could fall overall this year, for the first time in more than a decade.
Amy Isackson, KPBS News.
