關注社會:美國移民數量因衰退30餘年來首次滑坡

Census Shows Decline In US Foreign-Born Residents
The number of foreign-born residents of the U.S. declined for the first time since at least 1970, as a recession and tight labor market dimmed America's image as the land of opportunity.

Fewer jobs in construction lured less immigrants from their home countries, especially those from Mexico, according to the Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey. From falling home ownership to families moving in with other to couples putting off marriage, the report illustrated the multiple ways that the recession has upended Americans' lives.

About 38 million foreign-born people lived in the U.S. last year, 100,000 less than the year previous, according to an analysis of Census data by William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. The decline falls within the margin of error, but it still represents a significant turnaround from the recent past. Between 2000 and 2006, the U.S. foreign-born population increased by an average 1 million people a year; in 2007, the number fell to about half.

It is impossible to know for certain how many immigrants are entering and leaving the U.S. because millions are here illegally. But the Census data, combined with recent analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center, strongly suggests that fewer foreigners are flocking to the U.S. The industries so dependent on them during boom times are also scaling back.

Indeed, the number of Mexicans living in the U.S. declined to 11.4 million last year, a fall of 300,000 people. Mexico is the leading country of origin of immigrants, accounting for one-third of all foreign-born U.S. residents.

Hispanics have long boasted a higher employment rate than American whites and blacks. But that has changed during the recession, with unemployment among Latin American immigrants has climbed more steeply than for other U.S. workers.

The American Community Survey also showed how the recession has torn through Americans' incomes and living standards. The median income fell in 27 states, including many of the same that saw slowdowns in migration and immigration. Florida's median income fell by $1,860, to $47,800, the steepest decline in the nation. California, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada all saw median incomes decline by more than $800.

The share of the population that owned a home fell to 66.6%, the lowest rate since 2002 and down from 67.2% in 2007. Foreclosures have affected everyone, but vary across the races. The Asian homeownership rate fell to 59.4% from 60.7% in 2007. The black home ownership rate fell to 45.6% from 46.5%; Latinos dropped to 49.1% from 49.9% in 2008, while the home ownership rate for non-Hispanic whites fell 0.4 percentage points, to 73.4%.

Even commuting patterns and marriage rates appear to have changed. The share of people driving alone to work fell to 75.5% last year, from 76.1% in 2007. The percentage of the population that has never been married rose to 31.2% from 30.7% in 2007; the share of the never-married population was as low as 27% earlier in this decade.

外國出生美國居民數量出現了上世紀70年代以來的首次下降，經濟衰退和勞動力市場吃緊給美國遍地是機遇的國際形像蒙上了陰影。

美國人口普查局(Census Bureau)發佈的年度《美國社會調查》顯示，建築業工作崗位的減少使得移民工人、特別是墨西哥工人的流入量有所減少。從住房擁有率的下降，到家庭轉而與他人合住，再到伴侶推遲結婚，這份報告從多方面闡述了美國人的生活怎樣因當前衰退遭到了顛覆。

這份由布魯金斯研究院(Brookings Institution)人口統計學家威廉姆斯•弗雷(William H. Frey)發佈的分析報告顯示，去年，大約有3,800萬外國出生的人居住在美國，較前年減少了10萬。雖然這一變化還在允許誤差範圍之內，但是這仍體現出美國社會人口構成在短期內所發生的關鍵轉變。在2000至2006年間，美國每年平均新增外國出生居民人數都是100萬，而到了2007年，新增人數就只有50萬左右了。

我們不可能明確地知道有多少移民正在進入或離開美國，因爲這裏非法移民的人數有幾百萬之多。但人口普查局這份數據以及近期普優西裔研究中心(Pew Hispanic Center)發佈的報告都清楚地表明，涌入美國的外國人數量正在不斷減少。那些在景氣時依賴移民取得發展的行業在眼下也出現了滑坡。

事實上，去年在美墨西哥人降至1,140萬，減少了30萬人。墨西哥是最大的美國移民來源地，墨西哥人佔外國出生美國居民的三分之一。

西裔一直爲擁有較美國白人和黑人更高的就業率而感到自豪。然而，這種情況在經濟衰退期間已有所改變，拉丁裔移民的失業率較其他美國工人攀升得更快。

這份《美國社會調查》也顯示出經濟衰退如何嚴重影響了美國的收入和生活標準。27個州的收入中值有所減少，它們當中許多在居民遷移以及移民規模上都出現了滑坡。佛羅里達州收入中值減少了1,860美元，降爲47,800美元，縮水情況在各州中最爲嚴重。加州、密歇根州、亞利桑那州以及內華達州的收入中值都出現了逾800美元的下滑。

去年美國的住房擁有率從2007年的67.2%降至66.6%，爲2002年以來的最低水平。所有人都受到房屋止贖的影響，但各個族裔又有所不同。亞裔、黑人、以及拉丁裔的住房擁有率分別從60.7%降至59.4%，從46.5%降至45.6%以及從49.9%降至49.1%。非拉丁裔美國白人的住房擁有率下降了0.4個百分點，降至73.4%。

甚至連人們的工作出行模式，以及結婚率都出現了變化。去年有75.5%的人選擇開車上班，少於前年的76.1%。未曾結婚人口比率從2007年的30.7%升至31.2%。在本世紀初的幾年時間裏，這一比率曾低至27%。