A recent report from the Dallas Fed shows that the maquiladora towns of Acuna and Piedras Negras have been struggling with long-term employment declines, while Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Juarez appear to be climbing out of their downturns.
Reynosa is the only maquiladora town near Texas that has demonstrated steady growth since 2000, but Kyle Arnold of the McAllen Monitor reports that Reynosa’s employment growth has cooled in recent months.
“The slowdown in job growth could be due to a slowing economy in the United States and fears of rising interest, said Keith Patridge, president and CEO of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, a group that tries to bring new jobs and business to both sides of the border,” writes Arnold in a June 27 dispatch.
According to the Dallas Fed, employment in the textile sector across the border from Texas has been steadily losing ground, while machinery, chemicals, and transportation are showing strong growth in recent years. Services, furniture, and electronics also trend upward, but less dramatically, following downturns in the early years of the new century.
McAllen Monitor: “Maquilla hiring rate slowing down” (June 27,2006) Kyle Arnold, Monitor Staff Writer
Dallas Fed: Hot Stats – Maquiladora Employment (June 2006)
Texas Civil Rights Review 