Employment And Unemployment In Mexico S Labor Force

Five million workers are employed in a variety of settings along the U.S.–Mexico border, yet labor market outcomes on each side often differ. U.S. workers tend to have low earnings and high unemployment compared with the rest of the country, while workers on the Mexican side of the border are often more prosperous than those in the interior. This book sheds new light on these socioeconomic differentials, along with other labor market issues affecting both sides of the border. The contributors take up issues that dominate the current discourse— migration, trade, gender, education, earnings, and employment. They analyze labor conditions and their relationship to immigration, and also provide insight into income levels and population concentrations, the relative prosperity of Mexico’s border region, and NAFTA’s impact on trade and living conditions. Drawing on demographic, economic, and labor data, the chapters treat topics ranging from historical context to directions for future research. They cover the importance of trade to both the United States and Mexico, salary differentials, the determinants of wages among Mexican immigrant women on the U.S. side, and the net effect of Mexican migration on the public coffers in U.S. border states. The book’s concluding policy prescriptions are geared toward improving conditions on the U.S. side without dampening the success of workers in Mexico. Written to be equally accessible to social scientists, policy makers, and concerned citizens, this book deals with issues often overlooked in national policy discussions and can help readers better understand real-life conditions along the border. It dispels misconceptions regarding labor interdependence between the two countries while offering policy recommendations useful for improving the economic and social well-being of border residents.

This book takes sharp issue with the prevailing perception that Mexican employment conditions have not improved or have even deteriorated over time. It reveals a steady and substantial improvement in the earnings of workers at the bottom of the nonagricultural wage structure and shows that rural-urban migration has caused migrants' earnings to rise signinficantly and has not prevented the rise of urban unskilled wages in general. The findings indicate that estimates of the underutilization of labor are not only grossly exaggerated but also misleading for the formulation of employment policy. The author uses new information to estimate the flow of migrant labor to the United States. His examination of Mexican labor markets shows the unexpected importance of nonagricultural labor for rural household incomes. Finally, he assesses the impact on employment of the recent economic crisis and draws on lessons of the past to advance employment policy prescriptions for the future.

Although Mexico's unemployment rates, measured over a week, are low (3 to 6 percent), 15 to 20 percent of the population experiences at least one spell of unemployment over a year. Unemployment is concentrated among the young : half the workers under 20 experience a spell of unemployment over a year, but only a tenth of workers over 30.

Employment policy, unemployment and labour force problems in the USA. Statistical tables.

First published in 1995. During the late 1980s and early 1990s the American economy again became immersed in a recession. Consequently, it became very likely that the quality of employment generated during this period would suffer, and the situation of the labor force would be expected to worsen. The study of labor force stratification can illuminate ways in which the American working class is segmented, as well as the relation to other social problems like poverty and delinquency. In this book, the author explores underemployment, an arguably more accurate measure of labor force hardship than unemployment, amongst several demographic groups. This study will be of interest to students of both economics and sociology.