PODCAST: ¿Cómo ha cambiado la población indocumentada en Estados Unidos desde 2019?

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Todavía una gran parte de la población indocumentada (45 por ciento vive) en EE. UU. lleva 20 años o más en el país, el 14 por ciento lleva entre 15 y 19 años, y el 21 por ciento tiene al menos 5 años en el país. Solo el 20 por ciento llevaba menos de cinco años en el país.

Una movilización en 2024 para impulsar inversiones presupuestarias en programas destinados a los inmigrantes de Nueva York. (John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit)

Durante más de diez años, el número de inmigrantes indocumentados que vivían en los Estados Unidos casi no cambió. 

Pero según un nuevo análisis del Migration Policy Institute, esta población ha aumentado hasta alcanzar los 13.7 millones de personas a mediados de 2023, lo que supone un incremento de 3 millones desde el 2019.

Esta población no solo ha crecido, dice el reporte, sino que también se ha diversificado.

Muchas más personas vienen de sudamérica y el Caribe, y dentro de los estimados se incluyen inmigrantes que tienen estatus migratorio liminal o “de paso”, que confiere protecciones temporales frente a la deportación y autorización para trabajar como en los casos de personas bajo el Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS por sus siglas en inglés) o de la Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA por sus siglas en inglés), que tienen una solicitud de asilo pendiente o un permiso temporal conocido como “parole”.

Pese al aumento, todavía una gran parte de la población indocumentada (45 por ciento) en EE. UU. lleva 20 años o más en el país, mientras que un 14 por ciento lleva entre 15 y 19 años, y el 21 por ciento tiene al menos 5 años en el país. Solo el 20 por ciento llevaba menos de cinco años en el país.

Más de un 20 por ciento de la población indocumentada del país vivía en cuatro estados: California, Texas, Florida y Nueva York. 

En Nueva York, por ejemplo, había 836.000 inmigrantes indocumentados, el 40 por ciento de estos provenientes de México y Centroamérica, y un 23 por ciento de ellos venían de Sudamérica.

En cuanto a tiempo de residencia, en Nueva York, el 42 por ciento de los residentes indocumentados lleva 20 años o más en el país, seguido por el 18 por ciento que lleva menos de 5 años.

Así que para hablar de este reporte, invitamos a Ariel Ruiz, uno de los coautores y quien se desempeña como analista de políticas en el Migration Policy Institute.

Más detalles en nuestra conversación a continuación.

Ciudad Sin Límites, el proyecto en español de City Limits, y El Diario de Nueva York se han unido para crear el pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” para hablar sobre latinos y política. Para no perderse ningún episodio de nuestro pódcast “El Diario Sin Límites” síguenos en Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Pódcast y Stitcher. Todos los episodios están allí. ¡Suscríbete!

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‘No se metan’: Concejales municipales se oponen a agentes federales en Nueva York

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“Esto solo ha debilitado nuestras comunidades locales y nuestra economía al perturbar nuestros barrios y a sus pequeños socios comerciales. Todo por motivos políticos. No necesitamos más perturbaciones como esta”, declaró la presidenta del Concejo, Adrienne Adams, el jueves en la alcaldía.

Conferencia de prensa celebrada el jueves por los miembros del Concejo Municipal para denunciar la redada de ICE en el bajo Manhattan la semana pasada. (Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit)

Este artículo se publicó originalmente en inglés el 23 de octubre. Traducido por Daniel Parra. Read the English version here.

El jueves por la mañana, 11 miembros del Concejo Municipal y líderes religiosos se reunieron para condenar el uso de tácticas de estilo militar por parte del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE por sus siglas en inglés) para arrestar a vendedores ambulantes en Chinatown.

“Comenzamos al unísono a enviar un mensaje claro a la administración Trump: no se metan. Dejen de amenazar nuestra seguridad pública y nuestra economía”, dijo la presidenta del Concejo de la ciudad, Adrienne Adams, durante una conferencia de prensa en la rotonda de la alcaldía.

El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS por sus siglas en inglés) afirmó que 14 personas fueron detenidas en la redada del martes en el Bajo Manhattan, en la que agentes de ICE —y un vehículo blindado— se dirigieron hacia un grupo de vendedores que vendían bolsos y otros artículos en la acera. Nueve de los detenidos eran hombres migrantes, mientras que los demás eran manifestantes.

Los neoyorquinos reaccionaron inmediatamente a la operación saliendo a las calles y organizando protestas el martes por la noche y al día siguiente. Las condenas públicas de los líderes locales tampoco han cesado, y la fiscal general del estado, Letitia James, pidió a los neoyorquinos que enviaran fotos o vídeos de la redada del martes para que su oficina los revisara, con el fin de evaluar si se había infringido alguna ley.

El incidente se produce tras meses de detenciones federales en el principal tribunal de inmigración de la ciudad, situado en el número 26 de Federal Plaza, y después de que la administración Trump enviara tropas de la Guardia Nacional a otras ciudades importantes este otoño, como Chicago y Los Ángeles.

Durante una entrevista en Fox News el miércoles, el director del ICE, Todd Lyons, advirtió que tiene previsto aumentar el número de detenciones llevadas a cabo en la ciudad. Las autoridades federales calificaron la redada de Canal Street como una operación «basada en información de inteligencia», centrada en la supuesta venta de productos falsificados en una zona muy turística.

Durante una entrevista con Fox News el miércoles, el director de ICE, Todd Lyons, advirtió que planea aumentar el número de detenciones llevadas a cabo en la ciudad. Las autoridades federales calificaron la redada de Canal Street como una operación “basada en información de inteligencia”, centrada en la supuesta venta de productos falsificados en la zona turística.

Pero los defensores locales afirman que se trató de una operación basada en perfiles raciales contra los migrantes africanos. El Street Vendor Project, un grupo de defensa, afirmó que al menos cinco vendedores ambulantes fueron detenidos el martes.

Canal Street ha sido durante mucho tiempo un epicentro del comercio ambulante y un lugar turístico para los compradores de artículos de imitación con descuento. Desde que el alcalde Eric Adams asumió el cargo, la policía de Nueva York ha intensificado la represión contra los vendedores ambulantes en toda la ciudad, como reportó anteriormente City Limits.

Adams, la presidenta del Concejo, dijo que estas medidas no hacen que la ciudad sea más segura. “De hecho, nos hace a todos menos seguros. Trump y su ICE han violado repetidamente los derechos constitucionales, haciendo desaparecer ilegalmente a miembros de nuestras comunidades y separando a familias”, afirmó.

“Esto solo ha debilitado nuestras comunidades locales y nuestra economía, al perturbar nuestros barrios y a sus pequeños socios comerciales. Todo por motivos políticos. No necesitamos más perturbaciones de este tipo”, añadió.

Unas semanas antes del incidente, los legisladores municipales presentaron un proyecto de ley para actualizar las leyes santuario, que llevan décadas en vigor.

La concejal Tiffany Cabán presentó un proyecto de ley que excluiría a ICE de Rikers Island, después de que la administración del alcalde Eric Adams intentara permitir el regreso al complejo penitenciario de la isla. El Concejo Municipal finalmente detuvo la medida mediante una demanda y ganó en los tribunales. Además, Cabán quiere ampliar el número de agencias federales con las que las agencias municipales no pueden compartir información.

La operación del martes en Chinatown contó con la participación de múltiples agencias federales, entre ellas el ICE, la Administración para el Control de Drogas y el Buró Federal de Investigaciones.

La presidenta del comité de inmigración del Concejo Municipal, Alexa Avilés, dijo que era poco probable que estas reformas se aprobaran este año, ya que el Concejo espera que el alcalde Adams las vete. Así que le tocaría al próximo alcalde lidiar con ellas.

Curtis Sliwa, Andrew Cuomo y Zohran Mamdani. (City Limits, Flickr/Andrew Cuomo)

Candidatos a la alcaldía responden

El debate final con los tres candidatos a la alcaldía, que se emitió el miércoles por la noche, comenzó con preguntas sobre la redada del martes en Canal Street. Cada candidato criticó a su manera el despliegue de agentes federales.

Andrew Cuomo, el exgobernador de Nueva York que se presenta como independiente tras perder las primarias demócratas, dijo que la ciudad no “necesita a ICE para ocuparse de los delitos contra la calidad de vida. No necesitamos que se preocupen por los vendedores ilegales. Esa es una función policial básica de la policía de Nueva York”. 

Zohran Mamdani, candidato demócrata y favorito en la contienda, criticó a la administración Adams y pidió “poner fin al capítulo de colaboración entre la alcaldía y el Gobierno federal”. También instó al Concejo a aprobar proyectos de ley de reforma de la venta ambulante destinados a proteger a los vendedores de la aplicación de la ley penal.

Curtis Sliwa, el candidato republicano, afirmó que los agentes federales no deberían haber intervenido, ya que “este es un asunto que debería haberse dejado en manos de la policía de Nueva York”.

El jueves, Avilés reconoció que la ciudad tiene una capacidad limitada para detener las redadas inesperadas de ICE, pero dijo que el estado podría intervenir y ofrecer más protección.

El senador estatal Andrew Gounardes presentó recientemente un proyecto de ley para impedir que otros estados envíen tropas de la Guardia Nacional a Nueva York sin el permiso local. Dijo que los funcionarios deberían ser “lo más creativos posible y hacer todo lo que podamos para protegernos en este momento”.

Gounardes dijo que está frustrado y decepcionado porque los legisladores estatales aún no han aprobado el proyecto de ley New York for All (Nueva York para todos), que limitaría la cooperación entre las agencias gubernamentales estatales y locales y el ICE. 

Fuera de los cinco condados de la ciudad, el número de agencias policiales locales que han establecido alianzas con funcionarios federales de inmigración se ha multiplicado en todo el estado este año, como informó anteriormente City Limits.

“Creo que la situación sólo va a empeorar. Lo que vimos en Canal Street es solo el comienzo”, dijo Gounardes. “Por eso debemos hacer todo lo posible, absolutamente todo lo que podamos, para proteger realmente a los neoyorquinos y luchar contra esto”.

Para ponerse en contacto con el reportero de esta noticia, escriba a Daniel@citylimits.org. Para ponerse en contacto con la editora, escriba a Jeanmarie@citylimits.org.

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Federal food benefits and preschool aid to run dry starting Saturday if shutdown continues

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By JONATHAN MATTISE

Federal funds could begin running dry Saturday that help tens of millions of Americans to buy food for their families and send their toddlers to preschool if Congress doesn’t reach a deal by then to end the U.S. government shutdown.

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Funding for another program that helps mothers care for their newborns could run out the following week.

Barring a resolution to the shutdown, the U.S. will have a gaping hole in its safety net, particularly for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries. Benefits under the program known as SNAP run dry starting Saturday.

Funding for a group of Head Start preschool programs and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, also could run out soon.

Here’s a look at what would happen to each program.

SNAP benefits could leave millions without money for food

Lower-income families who qualify for SNAP receive debit cards loaded each month by the federal government used only for buying groceries at participating stores and farmers markets. The debit cards are recharged in slightly different ways in each state. Not everyone receives their benefits on the first day of the month, though many beneficiaries get them early in the month.

The average monthly benefit is $187 per person. Most beneficiaries have incomes at or below the poverty level.

There’s also uncertainty about whether benefits left on cards on Nov. 1 can be used. Arkansas officials suggest people who have balances on their cards should use the funds this month on shelf-stable foods. Missouri and Pennsylvania officials expect previous benefits will remain accessible and are telling beneficiaries to save for November if they can.

President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected the idea of using some $5 billion in contingency money to keep providing the federal cash for food, saying that reserve is limited to expenses such as help after disasters.

That decision contrasts with a report late last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that said a contingency fund could cover SNAP benefits if government funding lapsed.

Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups have urged the Trump administration to tap into that fund to provide partial benefits into November.

Some states seeking to fill void of SNAP benefit cuts

Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia have pledged to backfill food aid for recipients even while the shutdown stalls the federal program, though state-level details haven’t been announced.

The map above shows the percentage of U.S. households in each county that receive SNAP food assistance benefits. (AP Digital Embed)

 

In Republican-led Louisiana, the House has voted unanimously for a resolution urging the state’s health department to use $150 million in its budget to avoid an interruption in SNAP benefits to nearly 800,000 residents. The measure awaits Senate action, and Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has said it’s a top priority.

More funding for food banks and pantries is planned in states including New Hampshire, Minnesota, California, New Mexico, Connecticut and New York, where Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Monday that she is “fast tracking” $30 million in emergency food assistance funds to help keep food pantries stocked.

Officials from some other states have said they looked into backfilling SNAP benefits with state funds but found they couldn’t because states have no way to load funds onto recipients’ cards.

A store post signs accepting WIC payments on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California deployed the National Guard to help his state’s food banks, though some have declined to use the troops. He is also quickly making $80 million available for food banks.

The USDA advised Friday that states won’t be reimbursed for funding the benefits.

The Trump administration is blaming Democrats, who say they will not agree to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them on extending expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the government before negotiation.

Early childhood education

More than 130 Head Start preschool programs won’t receive their annual federal grants on Nov. 1 if the government remains shut down, according to the National Head Start Association.

Centers are scrambling to assess how long they can stay open, since nearly all their funding comes from federal taxpayers. Head Start provides education and child care for the nation’s neediest preschoolers. When a center is closed, families may have to miss work or school.

A sign indicates EBT cards are accepted at a market on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

With new grants on hold, a half-dozen Head Start programs have already missed federal disbursements they were expecting Oct. 1 but have stayed open with fast-dwindling reserves or with help from local governments. All told, more than 65,000 seats at Head Start programs across the country could be affected.

Food aid for mothers and young children

Another food aid program supporting millions of low-income mothers and young children already received an infusion to keep the program open through the end of October, but even that money is set to run out early next month.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, young children and expectant parents purchase nutritious staples such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and infant formula.

A shopper shows their WIC card on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The program, known as WIC, was at risk of running out of money in October because of the government shutdown, which occurred right before it was scheduled to receive its annual appropriation. The Trump administration reassigned $300 million in unspent tariff proceeds from the Department of Agriculture to keep the program afloat. But it was only enough money for a few weeks.

Now, states say they could run out of WIC money as early as Nov. 8.

Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. AP contributors include Moriah Balingit in Portland, Oregon; Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey; David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California.

Economists are realizing the job market is cooling. Workers have known it for months

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By Sarah Foster, Bankrate.com

Andy Challenger is the person businesses call when it’s time to let workers go. And for the past year and a half, his phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

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A third-generation outplacement consultant at Challenger, Gray & Christmas — the firm his grandfather founded in the 1960s after his own layoff — Challenger has heard a variety of reasons over the past few months for trimming headcount. Companies looking to cut staff after the pandemic-era hiring boom. Executives debating how to integrate artificial intelligence. Businesses worrying about eating the cost of higher tariffs. Firms tightening their belts in a slowing economy.

As economic data continued to suggest a shockingly resilient labor market, his workload told a different story.

Anyone who has watched a friend lose work, seen a “Now Hiring” sign quietly come down, scrolled through LinkedIn profiles marked “#OpenToWork” or worried about how far your own paycheck will stretch, knows what Challenger is talking about. Economic reports can tell one story; your reality often tells another.

For much of the past few years, Americans have been told the job market was strong. The numbers showed solid hiring and low unemployment. Economists have said it’s propped up the entire economy, fueling consumer spending that keeps surprising forecasters.

But for many, that story has never quite matched what was happening at their kitchen tables. More than 2 in 5 workers (43 percent) didn’t receive a pay increase at all over the past 12 months, the highest in four years and a sign of a slowing job market, according to Bankrate’s new Pay Raise Survey. A rising share of Americans in the labor force (42 percent in 2025 from 36 percent in 2024) also say they aren’t confident they’ll find a better-paying job or get a pay raise at their current position over the next 12 months.

Economists are realizing that Americans were right all along

The data may finally be starting to reflect Americans’ experiences. Hiring over the past four months has flatlined. Recent revisions from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the economy added nearly a million fewer jobs — 911,000 — than previously reported between March 2024 and March 2025. All of it’s adding to signs that Americans may have gotten it right, economists say.

The numbers, though, still might not be telling the full story. The U.S. economy grew by the fastest pace in almost two years last quarter, but that might be because upper-income Americans are propping up spending. The top 10 percent of Americans now account for nearly half of consumer spending, up from 35 percent in the early 1990s, according to Moody’s Analytics.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is juicing up the economy. Business investment in intellectual property contributed just over one-fifth of recent economic growth in the second quarter of this year, data from the Department of Commerce shows.

The disconnect can give Americans the perception that they’re struggling alone. Over 2 in 5 (43 percent) U.S. adults say money negatively affects their mental health, above things like their health and relationships or even politics and world news, according to Bankrate’s Money and Mental Health Survey.

Those Americans are also nearly three times more likely to have paid a bill late in the last month, the survey found.

“If everyone is struggling, well, then it’s a systemic breakdown. If I’m the one struggling, whether that’s true or not, well, there’s something wrong with me,” says Nate Astle, a certified financial therapist and the founder of the Financial Therapy Clinical Institute. “My cynicism for the media or the stats I’m hearing and my distrust of institutions grows even wider because this isn’t even close to my experience.”

Those discrepancies also make it harder for policymakers to prescribe the right medicine. Federal Reserve officials cut interest rates at their September meeting to give the labor market more support, but they’ve been cautious about moving too quickly, fearful that they could worsen inflation. Keeping rates high for too long, though, could weaken the job market even more.

“In this moment in particular, there is a greater need to understand what’s going on at different income levels and for different populations,” Long says. “For the bottom 80 percent, we can see it in their spending habits. This is not a boom time for them. This is very much a back to the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. The real concern is, when does it go from paycheck to paycheck to starting to miss bills?”

The job market might not be getting much better, says this small business owner

Chris Taylor has a foot in both worlds. A trained economist turned small business owner, he co-owns Manhattan’s oldest chocolate house, Li-Lac Chocolates, with six locations around New York City. But Taylor doesn’t need data to confirm that the job market is slowing. He sees it on the ground.

“We are getting seriously qualified candidates that six months ago wouldn’t be bothered to talk to us,” he says. “The Fed sets interest rates based on whatever magic formulas they have, and then you ride the wave. You can’t control the waves that you ride, but I see huge labor market weakness, and I see huge pricing pressure on the retail side.”

Taylor doesn’t foresee the picture changing much anytime soon. Li-Lac’s costs have stayed manageable thanks to year-ahead contracts for chocolate and gift boxes, but they’ll have to place another order after the holidays. If the Supreme Court upholds President Donald Trump’s steep ‘reciprocal tariffs,’ Taylor expects a major jump in expenses. He’s searched for U.S. suppliers with the same quality and reliability but hasn’t found any.

He doesn’t know if he can pass those higher costs along to his customers, either. Taylor first noticed a slump in sales back in August, which he mainly attributes to weaker tourism.

To stay afloat, he’s implementing a hiring freeze for his 70 permanent employees and rethinking raises, after previously boosting pay an average of 25 percent over the past three years.

“If my costs increase on raw materials, I have to cut it somewhere, and I have to cut it in labor,” he says. “I like to give good raises. It’s cheaper to pay good people well than it is to pay mediocre wages.”

Like many business owners, Taylor isn’t planning layoffs yet, but he’s bracing for the possibility. Chocolate prices have already quadrupled in four years. Every week another small chocolatier calls him looking to sell.

A tough economy forced this small business owner to close up shop

Hidden behind the numbers is also heartbreak. Nicole Panettieri had just finished teaching college students how to create a small business proposal when she realized it was time to say goodbye to one of her own.

Panettieri owns two boutiques in Astoria, Queens: The Brass Owl, a women’s apparel and accessories shop that she opened in 2014, and The Tiny Owl, a toy and children’s store she launched after the pandemic.

But her debts were piling up, her rent was rising faster than her sales and tariffs had pushed The Tiny Owl’s costs up about 15 to 20 percent. When a Target opened around the corner, foot traffic died.

At the end of October, she’ll close The Tiny Owl for good, laying off two employees and cutting hours for three more.

On the subway ride home from class, she cried for the first time.

“The day I told my team that it was gonna happen, it felt the most real,” she says. “We all fought really hard to make it work. It feels like we all failed. There were too many obstacles for a business that’s only three years old.”

Motherhood and the experience of navigating city life with a newborn during the pandemic, changing diapers on park benches, inspired her to open the kids’ store. She vowed to create a safe space for families that she never had. Toys quickly became her bestseller, making up more than half of her business. She had hopes of eventually expanding. Then, tariffs hit.

Prices jumped almost overnight. Vendors canceled shipments or delivered goods with duties higher than the cost of the order. She had no choice but to pass the increases on to customers. All the while, she watched as passersby outside carried shopping bags from her lower-priced national competitors around the neighborhood.

“Once prices are up, they’re up,” she says. “No one goes backwards.”

Costs at her other shop have fared better, but sales are still down about 12 percent from last year. She’s paused hiring, cut hours heading into the holidays and skipped raises for the first time in 11 years. To save The Brass Owl from the same fate, she launched a GoFundMe that’s already raised nearly half its goal.

A year ago, she dreamed of opening a third store. She lives for the little moments, like watching kids around the neighborhood grow up. Once, a shopper told her she’d bought shoes from Panettieri’s store for her first date and was now getting engaged. Now, she’s debating whether to sell or close in a few years.

“You’re part of people’s lives, and I have the honor of seeing and talking to my customers,” she says. “I’m not scared of a challenge. I love to work, and I probably overdo it, but I’ve gotten to a point where this is just exhausting and demoralizing. This year has beat me down.”

Meet Saquan Taylor, an underemployed recent college graduate

The latest statistics have also missed people like Saquan Taylor, a 27-year-old jobseeker who keeps finding that the doors to better work are all closed.

Most days for Taylor follow the same pattern: wake up at 6:45am, work a full day as head teacher at a child care facility in Connecticut, hit the gym, eat dinner — and then, for two hours, scroll through job boards. He calls LinkedIn, Handshake and Glassdoor his “social media feeds.”

Since earning his associate’s degree in 2021, he’s applied to roughly a thousand jobs. He’s landed only six interviews.

Taylor has gotten so few responses to his applications back — 20 or 30, he estimates — that he doesn’t even bother reading the emails in full anymore. He scrolls straight to the end to see a phrase that, at least so far, has always been there: “We regret to inform you that we have decided not to move forward with your application at this time.”

“People want to work. They’re just not being given the opportunity to work,” he says. “Things are booming, the stock market is great, but it’s only great for some people. If you’re not financially well, then it’s not great for you.”

Taylor studied political science and hopes to work as a department head for a government agency one day. Federal job cuts, however, have made the field more competitive.

He’s giving himself until December to find something new before moving back to New York City, where he hopes to find more opportunities. For now, he’s living at home with his mom in Connecticut, paying down bills and his student loans.

Some days, the job search feels like a test of self-worth. That’s when he’ll remind himself of where he came from: a studio apartment shared with 13 family members after moving from Jamaica to New York. His mother worked multiple jobs and became the first in their family to buy a house — a drive he’s tried to emulate.

Earlier this year, Taylor finished his bachelor’s degree, graduating with honors from Central Connecticut State University, after originally having to drop out from a four-year university in 2020 for financial reasons.

“As the years went on, I saw my mom do things I’d really consider superhuman. Once she puts her mind to something, she’s going to do it,” he says. “You have to really trick yourself into believing that there is goodness out there and hoping for the better. I try to remain humble but also hopeful that there is a better day, and I’m doing what’s necessary right now to make that day come true.”

Stay patient and cut yourself some slack, this recruiter says

Kyle Rapaport has taken it upon himself to validate what other jobseekers are experiencing. Rapaport is a recruiter for companies in the supply chain industry, the epicenter of Trump’s trade war. He spends his days trying to connect people who need jobs with companies who need workers. Lately, he feels as exhausted as the jobseekers he talks to.

Companies are pickier than ever, he says. He’s seen some firms leave roles open for a year, passing up qualified candidates in hopes of finding a perfect one who’ll check every box. Others, meanwhile, are motivated to hire one week, then a couple weeks later implement a hiring freeze after reevaluating their finances. Even in a tough market, he’s still witnessed a stigma for hiring unemployed workers.

“Companies know they are in control of the market,” he says. “It’s really tough to see candidates that I work with posting on LinkedIn, week after week, just not being able to land a position for one reason or another. I want to help them. Trying to help them and not being able to can be really frustrating and really taxing.”

Certified financial therapist Nate Astle has been starting to remind his clients that they should budget for fun in their emergency fund just as much as their necessities, knowing how much longer job searches are taking — and how emotionally challenging they can be.

“People say I have to distinguish between my needs versus wants, but wants are needs, and we need to have wants,” Astle says. “If I have been used to a certain lifestyle where I can go to the movies if I need to and suddenly I can’t, eventually I’m going to say, ‘Screw it. I’m going to do whatever I want to do because I’m so sad and depressed.’ We need to budget for that fun. It’s the most important money we spend.”

When Rapaport can’t find someone a job, he’ll do the next best thing that he thinks will help: listen and give advice. He frequently passes along resume feedback, interview or negotiation tips and just general encouragement. His best advice to jobseekers is to leverage your network and to just stay patient.

“If you are searching for a job in this market, especially if you are unemployed, you are going to get burnt out,” he says. “There is so much rejection, and a lot of times, it’s a job that you may be perfectly qualified for, but you’ll just never hear back. Validate your own feelings, that this is very frustrating, but give yourself grace and know that you’re not alone in going through this. There are thousands of candidates, if not even more, who are experiencing the same thing every single day. It’s a matter of just continuing to fight through it.”

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