Not all Puerto Ricans are blue collar workers, but a majority are. They work in the garment industry and in factories, hotels, and restaurants.
Unemployment is high, thanks in large part to the flight of low-skilled manufacturing jobs from New York City over the last few decades. Lack of education, broken families, scarce housing, drugs, and crime are daily facts of life for the poorest Puerto Ricans.
However, the number of Puerto Ricans in white-collar professional and technical jobs is growing.
As with many other groups originating from outside the United States, second-generation Puerto Ricans tend to have more education and do better financially than their parents.
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