关注社会:美国移民数量因衰退30余年来首次滑坡

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.

外国出生美国居民数量出现了上世纪70年代以来的首次下降，经济衰退和劳动力市场吃紧给美国遍地是机遇的国际形像蒙上了阴影。

美国人口普查局(Census Bureau)发布的年度《美国社会调查》显示，建筑业工作岗位的减少使得移民工人、特别是墨西哥工人的流入量有所减少。从住房拥有率的下降，到家庭转而与他人合住，再到伴侣推迟结婚，这份报告从多方面阐述了美国人的生活怎样因当前衰退遭到了颠覆。

这份由布鲁金斯研究院(Brookings Institution)人口统计学家威廉姆斯•弗雷(William H. Frey)发布的分析报告显示，去年，大约有3,800万外国出生的人居住在美国，较前年减少了10万。虽然这一变化还在允许误差范围之内，但是这仍体现出美国社会人口构成在短期内所发生的关键转变。在2000至2006年间，美国每年平均新增外国出生居民人数都是100万，而到了2007年，新增人数就只有50万左右了。

我们不可能明确地知道有多少移民正在进入或离开美国，因为这里非法移民的人数有几百万之多。但人口普查局这份数据以及近期普优西裔研究中心(Pew Hispanic Center)发布的报告都清楚地表明，涌入美国的外国人数量正在不断减少。那些在景气时依赖移民取得发展的行业在眼下也出现了滑坡。

事实上，去年在美墨西哥人降至1,140万，减少了30万人。墨西哥是最大的美国移民来源地，墨西哥人占外国出生美国居民的三分之一。

西裔一直为拥有较美国白人和黑人更高的就业率而感到自豪。然而，这种情况在经济衰退期间已有所改变，拉丁裔移民的失业率较其他美国工人攀升得更快。

这份《美国社会调查》也显示出经济衰退如何严重影响了美国的收入和生活标准。27个州的收入中值有所减少，它们当中许多在居民迁移以及移民规模上都出现了滑坡。佛罗里达州收入中值减少了1,860美元，降为47,800美元，缩水情况在各州中最为严重。加州、密歇根州、亚利桑那州以及内华达州的收入中值都出现了逾800美元的下滑。

去年美国的住房拥有率从2007年的67.2%降至66.6%，为2002年以来的最低水平。所有人都受到房屋止赎的影响，但各个族裔又有所不同。亚裔、黑人、以及拉丁裔的住房拥有率分别从60.7%降至59.4%，从46.5%降至45.6%以及从49.9%降至49.1%。非拉丁裔美国白人的住房拥有率下降了0.4个百分点，降至73.4%。

甚至连人们的工作出行模式，以及结婚率都出现了变化。去年有75.5%的人选择开车上班，少于前年的76.1%。未曾结婚人口比率从2007年的30.7%升至31.2%。在本世纪初的几年时间里，这一比率曾低至27%。