For Immigrants, a Ripple Effect

Money transfers to relatives back home have also plummeted, she said; nationally, remittances to Latin America this year have grown at the slowest rate on record.

Yet Ramirez, the out-of-work sewer pipe layer, said not all of the changes have been bad.

Before, he said, the women in the house did the grocery shopping every Saturday, and he barely knew his way around a supermarket. But in his quest to save pennies, Ramirez recently discovered that the Grand Mart in Sterling has a stand where less-than-perfect produce is offered at bargain prices every few days. He's been hooked ever since.

"Look at this," he marveled in Spanish, picking out a mango with a small brown spot. "If you cut that out and eat it today it's perfect -- and you've saved one dollar."

He plans to continue shopping this way even after he finds another job.

"It's ridiculous to spend money unnecessarily. Maybe my misfortune has served to educate me," he said, with a wistful smile.

Database editor Dan Keating contributed to this report.