Due to the bleak economic panorama, growing numbers of immigrants in New York City and throughout the State are unable to find work and are applying for unemployment insurance benefits, said representatives of the Department of Labor this week.

Close to 50 percent of the work force in New York City is composed of immigrants, which clearly reveals the impact that unemployment can have on the labor market.

Mayra Peters-Quintero, director of the Bureau of Immigrant Workers' Rights at the Labor Department, said that the number of day laborers – workers employed without a contract in the construction and cleaning industry sectors – has risen considerably. This is due to the rise in unemployment in sectors with greater job security.

“And the number of applications for unemployment benefits is much greater this year than last,” said Peters-Quintero.

According to the Labor Department, the unemployment rate in New York City has risen to 16 percent. Last year, 35 percent of unemployed workers in New York State used up their full 26 weeks of unemployment benefits and still had no job at the end of the period.

State Labor Department Commissioner Patricia Smith told El Diario/La Prensa that her department is developing reforms in the benefits system with an eye toward a possible economic crisis, in order to avoid this situation.

“We have to do this now, immediately, before it is too late,” said Smith, referring to the reforms.

The Commissioner said in Washington this month that, although unemployment benefits have been offered in every period of recession, “at this moment they are especially necessary, before the economic conditions get even worse.”

During the past 12 months the State of New York has seen a 10 percent increase in the number of those receiving unemployment benefits. Manufacturing is the sector of the economy that has seen the greatest job loss, with 17,000 fewer openings in the past 12 months.

New York State offers assistance and information to jobless people at its Career Centers. For information on these centers visit www.servicelocator.org.