[Migrants from bordering countries in the labor force of the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, 1980-1996]. / Migrantes limitrofes en el mercado de trabajo del area metropolitana de Buenos Aires, 1980-1996.

PIP: Data from the 1991 Argentine census indicate that migrants from neighboring countries at that date were maintaining patterns of entry into the labor force of Buenos Aires consistent with past tendencies. Migrants tended to be employed in less skilled manufacturing industries, construction, commerce, and domestic work, often filling positions rejected by the native population because of low wages and poor working conditions. Profound changes in the Argentine economy since 1991 have included rising unemployment and underemployment and a loss of productive jobs in industry and construction. A comparison of the occupational structure of migrants from neighboring countries and of the total population for the years 1980, 1991, and 1996 demonstrates that important changes in sectorial employment have occurred among both the native and immigrant populations, with the immigrant population increasingly relegated to ever smaller sectors of the labor market offering less attractive employment. Nearly half of the 841,697 persons immigrating in 1991 from countries bordering Argentina settled in the Buenos Aires metropolitan region, comprising 42.8% of foreigners in the metropolitan area and 3.7% of the total regional population. Of the population from border countries residing in Buenos Aires, 43% are Paraguayan, 28% Uruguayan, 15% Bolivian, 12% Chilean, and 2% Brazilian. The unemployment rate in Buenos Aires fluctuated between 4% and 6% during 1974-92, but it rose to 10.6% in 1993 and then to 18% in 1996. The underemployment rate rose from 4.6% in 1983 to 8.2% in 1993 and 12.6% in 1996.^ieng

[Immigration from bordering countries into Argentina in the 1990s, myths and realities]. / L'immigration des pays limitrophes dans l'Argentine des annees 90, mythes et realites.

"The population growth that occurred in Argentina, between 1870 and the middle of this century, was due to the massive immigration current, mainly coming from Europe.... Due to recent increases in unemployment indices, poverty and other social problems, some sectors put the neighbouring countries' immigration as the cause of these phenomena, and some xenophobic manifestations started to appear.... This paper [aims] to show the distance between reality and the attitude of those who perceive these recent immigrants as a menace to job opportunities for the native population." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA)

The importance of systematizing migration information for making policy: recent initiatives and possibilities for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The case is made for developing a reliable system of data on international migration in Latin America and the Caribbean which would enable countries in the region to develop appropriate migration policies. The author describes the systems that currently exist in Europe and Latin America and "explores the possibility of implementing a regional registry and information system for migrations in the region." Locating the proposed system within the UN regional operation in Santiago, Chile, is proposed.

[Migration and employment in the metropolitan area of Costa Rica]. / Migracion y empleo en la aglomeracion metropolitana de Costa Rica

The relationship between rural-urban migration and employment in Costa Rica is explored. "The main purpose of this paper is to examine the conditions in which immigrants are absorbed in the labour market." The data are from the Survey on Migration and Employment in Metropolitan Areas carried out by the Ministry of Planning and Political Economics in 1982. (summary in ENG)