CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MIGRATION WORKFORCE MIGRATION WORKFORCE

IN THE AMERICASIN THE AMERICAS

Jorge Martínez Pizarro

CEPAL-CELADEEl Salvador, April 23-24, 2009

CONTEXT OF WORKFORCE MIGRATION IN THE AMERICASCONTEXT OF WORKFORCE MIGRATION IN THE AMERICAS

• Two movement patterns in the region: – From LAC to USA and Canada (also to Spain)– Between LAC countries

• The USThe US is the primary country of destination within the region (20.4 million Latin American and Caribbean nationals in 2007): “Latinos”, especially Mexicans, are the primary cheap labor reserve in the US economy.

• In CanadaCanada the presence of Latin American and Caribbean nationals is high as well: 600.000 persons in 2001 (11% of the total number of immigrants).

• Argentina, Costa Rica, and VenezuelaArgentina, Costa Rica, and Venezuela continue to be traditional countries of destination in Latin America and the Caribbean.

CONTEXT OF WORKFORCE MIGRATION IN THE AMERICASCONTEXT OF WORKFORCE MIGRATION IN THE AMERICAS

• The The Agreement on Residence for Nationals Agreement on Residence for Nationals of the member of the member countries ofcountries of Mercosur Mercosur has established the freedom of citizens to live and work in all spheres of the member countries (plus Bolivia and Chile), through accreditation of nationality and in the absence of criminal records.

• In LAC, migration of less qualified workers migration of less qualified workers prevails: Agricultural workers (in border regions) and construction workers or household workers (in urban areas).

• A higher concentration of migrant workers is observed in urban areasurban areas, which offer a greater diversity of work opportunities. In addition, important migration flows of agricultural workers exist, concentrating in rural areasrural areas of Belize, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, and Costa Rica.

LABOR INSERTION AND OCCUPATIONAL SECTORS OF MIGRANT WORKERSLABOR INSERTION AND OCCUPATIONAL SECTORS OF MIGRANT WORKERSin Latin America and the Caribbeanin Latin America and the Caribbean

Table 1Table 1OCCUPATIONAL, PARTICIPATION, AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES OF OCCUPATIONAL, PARTICIPATION, AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES OF

MIGRANTS AND NATIONALS IN ELEVEN LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIESMIGRANTS AND NATIONALS IN ELEVEN LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES

Source: Victor E. Tokman, “Movilidad internacional de personas y protección social” LC/L.2913-P, Serie Macroeconomía del Desarrollo, No.67 (LC/L.2913-P), Santiago de Chile, Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), July 2008. Prepared with information from CEPAL about home surveys in each country. *Refers to the arithmetic average.

Participation RateParticipation Rate Occupational RateOccupational Rate Unemployment RateUnemployment Rate

Countries Nationals Migrants Nationals Migrants Nationals Migrants

Argentina 68.6 71.7 61.1 66.4 10.9 7.3

Bolivia 69.7 75.7 65.5 64.8 6.1 14.4

Brazil 74.5 74.1 67.5 69.5 9.3 4.7

Chile 63.6 71.3 58.6 67.5 7.8 5.3

Costa Rica 66.2 72.3 62.2 69.0 6.2 4.6

Ecuador 76.4 81.5 70.9 77.3 7.2 5.2

Guatemala 69.5 64.3 66.1 54.1 4.8 15.8

Honduras 65.3 70.7 60.3 66.1 7.7 6.5

Mexico 66.0 62.9 63.3 58.3 4.1 7.4

Nicaragua 69.0 60.8 60.2 53.6 12.8 11.7

Dominican Rep. 69.3 74.1 55.9 66.2 19.3 10.7

Paraguay 72.8 74.4 67.1 69.9 7.8 6.1

Average* 69.369.3 71.171.1 53.453.4 65.165.1 8.58.5 8.48.4

Graph 1Graph 1GAPS IN PARTICIPATION, OCCUPATIONAL, AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN GAPS IN PARTICIPATION, OCCUPATIONAL, AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN

NATIONALS AND MIGRANTS, BY COUNTRY OF DESTINATIONNATIONALS AND MIGRANTS, BY COUNTRY OF DESTINATION

Source: Victor E. Tokman, “Movilidad internacional de personas y protección social” LC/L.2913-P, Serie Macroeconomía del Desarrollo, No.67 (LC/L.2913-P), Santiago de Chile, Comisión Económica para América Latina y el caribe (CEPAL), July 2008.

a) Gaps in Participation Ratesa) Gaps in Participation Rates

Graph 1Graph 1 GAPS IN PARTICIPATION, OCCUPATIONAL, AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN GAPS IN PARTICIPATION, OCCUPATIONAL, AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN

NATIONALS AND MIGRANTS, BY COUNTRY OF DESTINATIONNATIONALS AND MIGRANTS, BY COUNTRY OF DESTINATION

Source: Victor E. Tokman, “Movilidad internacional de personas y protección social” LC/L.2913-P, Serie Macroeconomía del Desarrollo, No.67 (LC/L.2913-P), Santiago de Chile, Comisión Económica para América Latina y el caribe (CEPAL), July 2008.

b) Gaps in Occupational Ratesb) Gaps in Occupational Rates

Graph 1Graph 1 GAPS IN PARTICIPATION, OCCUPATIONAL, AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN GAPS IN PARTICIPATION, OCCUPATIONAL, AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES IN

NATIONALS AND MIGRANTS, BY COUNTRY OF DESTINATIONNATIONALS AND MIGRANTS, BY COUNTRY OF DESTINATION

Source: Victor E. Tokman, “Movilidad internacional de personas y protección social” LC/L.2913-P, Serie Macroeconomía del Desarrollo, No.67 (LC/L.2913-P), Santiago de Chile, Comisión Económica para América Latina y el caribe (CEPAL), July 2008.

c) Gaps in Unemployment Ratesc) Gaps in Unemployment Rates

Graph 2Graph 2LABOR INSERTION OF NATIONALS AND MIGRANTSLABOR INSERTION OF NATIONALS AND MIGRANTS

Source: Victor E. Tokman, “Movilidad internacional de personas y protección social” LC/L.2913-P, Serie Macroeconomía del Desarrollo, No.67 (LC/L.2913-P), Santiago de Chile, Comisión Económica para América Latina y el caribe (CEPAL), July 2008.

45.4

65.8

51.7

73.8

38.6

59.7

51.8

69.1

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

Informal Employed Employed witha Contract

Employed withan Indefinite Contract

Per

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Nat. Migrants

LABOR INSERTION AND OCCUPATIONAL SECTORS OF MIGRANT WORKERS LABOR INSERTION AND OCCUPATIONAL SECTORS OF MIGRANT WORKERS in the United Statesin the United States

• A significant presence of workers from Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The latter show the highest rates of productive labor insertion.

• Caribbean and South American women show the highest economic productive activity rates. However, rates are still not higher than those of national women. Nevertheless, their participation rate is higher than in their country of origin.

• Regarding the sectors where they work, differences are observed according to migrants’ country of origin.

• Debate on the dependency on migrant workers.

LABOR INSERTION AND OCCUPATIONAL SECTORS OF MIGRANT WORKERS LABOR INSERTION AND OCCUPATIONAL SECTORS OF MIGRANT WORKERS in the United States in the United States

Table 3Table 3ACTIVITY, BY REGION OF BIRTH: 2007 ACTIVITY, BY REGION OF BIRTH: 2007

((Distribution Percentages)Distribution Percentages)

TotalTotal Region of BirthRegion of Birth

ActivityPercentage of Nationals

Percentage of Born Abroad

CaribbeanSouth

AmericaCentral America

Mexico

Agriculture (and Other) 1.8 2.6 0.3 0.5 1.5 6.7Utilities (Electricity, Gas, and Water) 0.8 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2

Construction 7.1 10.8 6.8 11.1 17.817.8 19.819.8Industry 10.6 13.0 7.5 10.0 12.612.6 15.615.6

Commerce and Transportation 19.3 17.1 20.920.9 19.319.3 15.915.9 14.0

Information and Communications 2.5 1.7 1.9 1.9 1.1 0.6

Finance 6.9 5.5 7.3 6.6 4.4 2.2

Services to Enterprises 9.9 11.3 9.19.1 11.311.3 12.2 10.5

Education, Health, and Social Services

21.1 16.6 26.526.5 17.317.3 10.8 7.6

Arts, Entertainment & Others 9.4 11.8 9.0 10.2 12.5 14.714.7

Other Services 4.5 6.4 6.1 8.7 8.8 6.3

Public Administration 4.8 2.0 3.1 2.0 1.4 0.9

Armed Forces 0.7 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1

Unemployed 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: Pew Hispanic Center, data from the American Community Survey (ACS), 2007 (1% IPUMS)

LABOR INSERTION AND OCCUPATIONAL SECTORS OF MIGRANT WORKERS LABOR INSERTION AND OCCUPATIONAL SECTORS OF MIGRANT WORKERS in Canadain Canada

• In 2001, men and women from the LAC region showed a high high employment rateemployment rate. Most of the men work in the manufacture sector, while women prefer working in the social services and health sectors.

• The percentage of economically active individuals working economically active individuals working as professionals is quite highas professionals is quite high: 30% of the men and 50% of the women.

• WomenWomen not only represent the majority of the contingent of immigrants in the region but also, labor insertion is easier for them than for men.

LABOR INSERTION AND OCCUPATIONAL SECTORS OF MIGRANT WORKERSLABOR INSERTION AND OCCUPATIONAL SECTORS OF MIGRANT WORKERS in Canadain Canada

Graph 6Graph 6CANADA: INDIVIDUALS BORN IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, CANADA: INDIVIDUALS BORN IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN,

15 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER, WORKING AS HIGHLY QUALIFIED WORKERS, 15 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER, WORKING AS HIGHLY QUALIFIED WORKERS, BY GENDER, 2001 BY GENDER, 2001 (Percentages)(Percentages)

QUALIFIED MIGRANTS IN THE REGIONQUALIFIED MIGRANTS IN THE REGION

QUALIFIED MIGRANTS IN THE REGIONQUALIFIED MIGRANTS IN THE REGION

• Loss of highly qualified populations. Apparently, benefits for the countries of origin have not clearly materialized.

• 1 million1 million professionals, technical workers, and members of related professions living outside their country of origin were registered in LAC in 2000.

• At an intra-Latin American level, the above mentioned professionals accounted for 25%25% of the total of qualified migrants and 13.4%13.4% of the total number of economically active migrant populations (EAP).

Graph 7Graph 7LATIN AMERICA: PERCENTAGES OF PROFESSIONALS, TECHNICAL WORKERS, AND LATIN AMERICA: PERCENTAGES OF PROFESSIONALS, TECHNICAL WORKERS, AND

MEMBERS OF RELATED PROFESSIONS IN ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE POPULATIONS BORN IN MEMBERS OF RELATED PROFESSIONS IN ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE POPULATIONS BORN IN LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES, BY COUNTRY OF PRESENCE, LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES, BY COUNTRY OF PRESENCE, CIRCA 2000CIRCA 2000

*PTA: Professionals, technical workers, and members of related professions

Source: Victor E. Tokman, “Movilidad internacional de personas y protección social” LC/L.2913-P, Serie Macroeconomía del Desarrollo, No.67 (LC/L.2913-P), Santiago de Chile, Comisión Económica para América Latina y el caribe (CEPAL), July 2008.

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27.3

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27.6

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10.00

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AR BO BR CL CR EC GT HN MX PA PY DO VE Total

Country of Presence

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QUALIFIED MIGRANTS IN THE REGIONQUALIFIED MIGRANTS IN THE REGION

• In the US, the percentage of professionals, technical workers, and members of related professions out of the total of Latin American immigrant EAPs has increased but is still much lower than the corresponding percentage of nationals.

• Educational backgrounds are heterogeneous: South American and Caribbean nationals show significantly higher education levels than Central Americans and Mexicans.

• The occupational structure of Mesoamerican migrants in the US shows selectivity towards less qualified selectivity towards less qualified workers, that is, workers with lower relative workers, that is, workers with lower relative education levelseducation levels.

WOMEN MIGRANTS AND HOUSEHOLD WORKWOMEN MIGRANTS AND HOUSEHOLD WORK

WOMEN MIGRANTS AND HOUSEHOLD WORKWOMEN MIGRANTS AND HOUSEHOLD WORK

• At an intra-regional level, 27% of the female migrant workforce is employed as household workers. Argentina, Chile, and Costa Rica show the highest rates of women migrant household workers.

• This type of migration does not displace nationals from their jobs but rather, fosters the evolution of the labor market, which is facing depletion of labor supply by rural migrants, with the type of services provided changing from full-time employment to outdoors employment (substitution).

• Maternity, economic vulnerability, and lack of empowerment are driving women to accept less prestigious jobs and lower salaries than those accepted by men with similar qualification levels. This causes segmentation in precarious jobs, with a high risk of exploitation (in the case of housework).

Graph 9Graph 9LATIN AMERICA: PERCENTAGES OF MIGRANT WOMEN HOUSEHOLD WORKERS, LATIN AMERICA: PERCENTAGES OF MIGRANT WOMEN HOUSEHOLD WORKERS,

BY COUNTRY OF BIRTH. BY COUNTRY OF BIRTH. CIRCACIRCA 20002000..

Source: IMILA Program of CELADE. National population censuses, special REDATAM processing.

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16.818.9 19.2

30.1

4.21.5

24.2

16.0

32.2

13.7

19.5

6.6

37.9

5.1

35.8

48.0

17.7

12.6

2.6

27.1

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MIGRATION OF WOMEN AND HOUSHOLD WORKMIGRATION OF WOMEN AND HOUSHOLD WORK

• Not only is labor segregation by gender observed but also by country of origin. Such is the case of Peruvian women in Chile and Argentina, and Nicaraguan women in Costa Rica.

• A high education level is a comparative advantage among migrants applying for jobs in this sector. However, overqualified houseworkers do not earn better salaries.

• The conditions of vulnerability and the discrimination that the workers are subject to in carrying out these jobs remind us that countries of origin as well as countries of destination should provide all the necessary protection to ensure compliance with international laws.

Percentage of Women Houseworkers

Nationals Migrants

Costa Rica 9.1 42.0

Chile 16.0 72.0

Thank you! Thank you!