Homebuilding low in the United States is bad news for migrants

The BBC is reporting this morning that the number of new homes and apartments being built in the United States sank to a 17-year low during July, spelling trouble for Latin American migrants living and working in the United States for whom the construction industry is a major source of employment.

Economists have been studying forward-looking information for signs that the U.S. housing slump was past its worst.

However, the Commerce Department data made for grim reading, with the number of construction permits issued - seen as a reliable sign of future activity - down 17.7% on an annual basis.

And the number of new homes being constructed last month was down by 39.2% compared with July 2007.

As the Pew Hispanic Center's labor report showed in June, the unemployment rate for Hispanics in the U.S. rose to 6.5% in the first quarter of 2008 mainly due to the slump in the construction industry.

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-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City