Dhari's Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Dhari's - Research Paper Example Nevertheless, recent efforts in economic development like the high population and employment growth and the increases in construction, health care, petroleum and social assistance are brightening the outlook (Garcia and Paul, 2006). New Mexico has a small manufacturing base which in 2003 was 4.7% of the non-agricultural population compared to the national average of 11.2%. There has been a reduction in the number of farms in the last few decades and a matching increase of the size of farms with most of the state’s agricultural efforts focusing on livestock instead of produce. In the past, mining was considered a main sector; however, it decreasingly plays a significant role in the state’s economy of only 1.8% in 2002 compared to 2.8% in 1988 and 5.5% in 1978. Because of the small employment opportunities in manufacturing and industrial sectors, the state historically has had a high rate of unemployment, even in non-recessionary times, the state experienced unemployment rates higher than the country’s average. For instance in 1987 unemployment was 8.9% compared to the national rate of 6.2%; moreover, in 2003, the state’s jobless rate was 6.4% compared to 6% of the national average (Garcia and Paul, 20069). ... These contrasting averages point the disparities in education in the state’s various population groups; For instance, the poor, Hispanics and Indians average less educational attainment than other groups in the state (Garcia and Paul, 2006). Therefore, of the estimated 1,819,046 total population of New Mexico, 120,000 are legally documented immigrants and 40,000 are undocumented; thus, the undocumented population is less than 7% of the total state’s population (Aparicio, Philip and Kalyani, 2004). Currently, over three quarters of immigrants admitted to New Mexico are from Mexico; even though, immigrants also come from other nations like the Asian nations. Although Hispanics make the largest portion of immigrant population in the state, over 90% are native born, which is higher than the country’s average of over64%. Many of the immigrants travel across the Mexico-New Mexico border without permit because of economic hardships and eventually end up staying in the s tate; thus, the reasons for immigrants staying are simply economic. For instance, an immigrant may decide to work for indefinite period in order to save some money and then go back to his or her country. Although undocumented immigrants enter New Mexico for economic opportunities, their rate of employment is low; thus, vast majority of the undocumented Hispanics and other immigrants live below poverty, which contribute to the poverty status of the state. Unemployment is main source of contemporary poverty; moreover, regional economic restructuring coincides with cultural diversity in America resulting in spatial inequalities in geographic areas (Aparicio, Philip and Kalyani, 2004; Esparza and Angela, 2008). This is reflected by the large differences in income and