MICRONESIAN MIGRANTS TO HAWAII, GUAM AND THE

THE STATUS OF MICRONESIAN MIGRANTS IN 1998

A Study of the Impact of the Compacts of Free Association

based of Censuses of Micronesian Migrants to Hawaii, Guam and the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

1. INTRODUCTION

The Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) went into effect in late 1986, and with the Republic of Palau (ROP) in late 1994. These three countries together make up what is frequently called the Freely Associated States (FAS). The Compact, as a joint congressional-executive agreement, charts relationships between the United States and the three island nations. Under the Compact, the United States funds the FSM, the RMI, and the ROP for a range of development programs, the use of United States currency, immigration privileges, federal processing of applications for air services, United States transportation of mail, and other benefits. In exchange, each Pacific nation guarantees the United States exclusive use of its land for military purposes.

Several key provisions in the Compact between the FSM, RMI, ROP and the United States concern its impact on United States areas, discussed in Section 104(e) as follows:

(1) Statement of Congressional Intent. In approving the Compact, it is not the intent of the Congress to cause adverse consequences for the United States territories and commonwealths or the State of Hawaii.

(2) Annual Reports and Recommendations. One year after the date of enactment of this joint resolution and at one year intervals thereafter, the President shall report to the Congress with respect to the impact of the Compact on the United States territories and commonwealths and on the State of Hawaii. Reports submitted because of this paragraph will identify adverse consequences resulting from the Compact and shall make recommendations for corrective action to eliminate those consequences. The reports shall pay particular attention to matters relating to trade, taxation, immigration, labor laws, minimum wages, social systems and infrastructure, and environmental regulation. With regard to immigration, the reports shall include statistics concerning the number of persons availing themselves of the rights described in section 141(a) of the Compact during the year covered by each report.[1] With regard to trade, the reports shall include an analysis of the impact on the economy of American Samoa resulting from imports of canned tuna into the United States from the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.

(3) Other Views. In preparing the reports, the President shall request the views of the Government of the State of Hawaii, and the governments of each of the United States territories and commonwealths, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau, and shall transmit the full text of these views to the Congress as part of reports.

(4) Commitment if Congress to Redress Adverse Consequences. The Congress hereby declares that, if any adverse consequences to United States territories and commonwealths or the State of Hawaii result from implementation of the Compact of Free Association, the Congress will act sympathetically and expeditiously to redress those adverse consequences.

(5) Definition of U.S. Territories and Commonwealths. As used in this subsection, the term "United States territories and commonwealths" means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.[2]

(6) Impact Costs. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1985, such sums as may be necessary to cover the costs, if any, incurred by the State of Hawaii, the territories of Guam and American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands resulting from any increased demands placed on educational and social services by immigrants from the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.

CHAPTER 2

PURPOSE OF STUDY AND FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES POPULATIONS

This study focuses on the numbers and social, economic, housing and expenditure characteristics of Micronesian migrants to Hawaii, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). It will not, however, look specifically at the impact that the Compact of Free Association has had on any of the receiving areas. This impact can be either positive (e.g. by increasing tax revenues) or negative (e.g. by increasing the demands on public services). This report will not assess financial impact – the positive, negative or net impact – of Compact implementation.

The 1997 Censuses of Micronesian Migrants to Hawaii and Guam, and 1998 Census of Micronesian Migrants on Saipan were developed to measure both:

· the negative impact of the Micronesian Migrants (as noted in the parts of the Compact shown earlier), but also

· the positive impact of the migrants in terms of salaries earned, purchases made, and taxes paid.

THE FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) implemented their Compacts of Free Association with the United States in November 1986. The Republic of Palau implemented its Compact in October 1994. Historically, these island groups were sovereign entities until they came under the control of Spain from the 1500s to 1898, Germany from 1899 to 1914, Japan from 1914 to 1945 and finally under an American Administration from about 1945.. After World War II B and Japan’s successful bombing of Pearl Harbor from the Marshall Islands B the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was created by the United States as a Astrategic@ trust territory and administered for the United Nations from 1947 until 1986. The TTPI consisted of what became the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The following is a brief summary of population size and migration trends of the RMI, ROP and FSM.

Marshall Islands. The Republic of the Marshall Islands is made up of two parallel chains of islands and has more than 50,000 persons. The Marshall Islands implemented its Compact at the same time as the FSM, but the pace of out-migration from the RMI has been much slower than that from the FSM. Most of the Marshall Islands migration, in fact, has been to Hawaii and the U.S. mainland rather than to Guam and the CNMI. Part of the reason for this flow is geographic C transportation is better to Hawaii than to Guam C and part is almost certainly economic. Based on the 1990 Census, at least 350 Marshallese were living in Hawaii while only 88 were living on Guam and 103 in the CNMI. The 1992 Office of Insular Affairs Survey of Micronesian migrants to Guam recorded 150 Marshallese. The 1993 Survey of Micronesian migrants to CNMI recorded 177 Marshallese, while the 1995 Census of the CNMI reported 130 individuals born in the Marshall Islands. Thus, Marshall Islands emigration west to Guam and the CNMI is relatively small (unfortunately, differences in reporting preclude stating that the 1995 data show a reverse trend). Most of the Marshall Islands migration is to Hawaii, with about 2,500 present there in 1997.

Palau. Palau is located southwest of Guam and has a population of about 18,000 people, with approximately 1/3rd foreign-born. Compared to the Marshall Islands, Palauan out-migration to Guam, CNMI and Hawaii has been more significant. Both Guam and CNMI have attracted Palauan migrants since the 1950s, during the early TTPI administration. Many Palauans came to Guam to study at the University of Guam, some enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces (one was killed in Vietnam during the war) and returned to Guam to live and work, and others have simply migrated to work, even when doing so was illegal. Many Palauans went to Saipan to work in the TTPI government, and many of these stayed in Saipan after the Commonwealth was formed in 1986; many Palauans have responsible positions in the CNMI government. The 1990 Census recorded 1,233 Palau-born on Guam and 1,407 in the CNMI. In 1995, the CNMI Census recorded 1,594 Palau-born, while the concurrent survey of Palauans on Guam reported 1,089; however, latter figure is likely an undercount. Of the three Freely Associated States groups, Palauans have had the longest history of residence in Hawaii and Guam.

Federated States of Micronesia. Four states C Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap C constitute the Federated States of Micronesia. Kosrae is composed of a main island, a smaller island (Lelu), and a number of even smaller islands. Pohnpei and Yap both have main islands and inhabited and uninhabited atolls, creating easy geographic differentiation. Chuuk, because it is the most populated state, and because of its history, is divided into five geographic regions C Northern and Southern Namoneas, and Faichuk in the Chuuk Lagoon, the Mortlock Islands to the south, and Oksoritod to the north and west. Oksoritod itself is made up of the Western Islands (Pulusuk, Puluwat, Pulap, and Tamatam), Namonuito, and the Hall Islands. Historical census and survey data for the FSM appear in Chapter 13.

CHAPTER 3

WHO IS A POST-COMPACT MIGRANT

One of the problems in studying the impact of the Compacts of Free Association on Guam, the CNMI, and the State of Hawaii – the receiving areas – is defining who, exactly, is a “Compact migrant”. Many Micronesians[3] came to these receiving areas before implementation of the Compacts, either on visas or through other arrangements, whether legal or not. During the early years of the TTPI Administration, very few migrants could afford to emigrate. The first migrants were students, who used a combination of TTPI scholarship and U.S. Federal scholarships and grants (particularly the Pell Grant, when it was implemented) to attend schools, first in Guam and Hawaii, and later on the U.S. mainland.

During the Carter Administration, in the late 1970s, the TTPI experienced a flood of emigrants for schooling, because the Pell Grant’s $2,000 funding at that time was enough to get the potential student to a school, even if the migrant was more “potential” than “student”. In fact, so many students or ex-students were in the States at the time of the 1980 TTPI Census that the data were artificially skewed. In the early 1980s, at a time when jobs were still plentiful, many of these migrants returned to the TTPI after having their adventures (see, for example, Levin 1976), taking over the government jobs that were being vacated throughout the TTPI by expatriate contract workers and Peace Corps volunteers.

Some of these students, whether they finished their studies or not, however, remained in Guam, Hawaii and the U.S mainland. They married and started families, got entry level jobs which eventually led to higher positions, and generally acted like the typical U.S. immigrants they were enrolling their children in schools, renting or buying houses or apartments, and paying taxes. These immigrants, who were born in the TTPI and migrated before the Compacts of Free Association were implemented, are considered “pre-Compact” migrants. As we discuss below, it is not clear whether the U.S. Federal Government must act “sympathetically” to whatever impact these individuals have on social and educational services. Further, many of these early migrants now have families, with either Micronesian or non-Micronesian spouses, and it is not clear whether the children of these migrants, many of whom have never been in Micronesia, are to be considered part of the impact of the Compacts of Free Association.

Also, before the Compacts of Free Association were implemented, a few Micronesians joined the U.S. military as a means of entry into the United States, sometimes with a wink from the recruiters, sometimes with their collusion. This means of entry to the United States went from a trickle to a minor cascade after Compact implementation. Like the American Samoans before them, the modern military is attractive because of the minor chance of death or injury and the opportunity to have free room and board and medical attention, to learn a skill, and to earn many times the money which would be available for a similar job in the sending country. Those who do not become career military apparently can retire to the United States. If they initially came before Compact implementation, they are considered “pre-Compact” migrants and, if they came after implementation, they are considered “post-Compact” migrants.

The TTPI itself ended up contributing a type of migrant. As the TTPI wound down in the late 1970s and early 1980s, many Micronesians from Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands who were working in Saipan for the TTPI government returned to their home areas to work. The population of Kosrae, for example, went from about 3,000 to over 5,000 between 1973 and 1980, and while fertility was high, return migration also contributed to the population increase. Other TTPI employees, though, had either married Saipanese or chose to remain in Saipan, where they were relatively welcomed (particularly compared to the reception of Micronesian government workers on Guam, where they were not welcomed), where they had houses, better schools, and better health facilities. Many of these people also would be considered “pre-Compact” migrants because they came long before the Compact was implemented, and either never returned to their home areas, or only returned for a short time before returning to Saipan to live and work. The children of these persons, also, might never have lived in the TTPI areas, so it is not clear, even with both parents having been born in the TTPI, whether or not these persons should be considered impact persons.

Many other persons originally went to Guam, the CNMI or the United States, either as students or tourists, and overstayed their visas and resided illegally in their respective receiving areas. A few cases were caught by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization officials and deported but, because of their very small numbers, in most cases they were ignored. When the Compacts of Free Association were implemented, these people suddenly became “legal” and, because their immigration status had been regularized, they no longer had to accept low-wage jobs from employers willing to risk legal sanctions and hire illegal aliens.

When the Palau Compact was implemented in 1994, many Palauan students were paying out-of-state tuition, long after the FSM and Marshall Islands students were able to pay in-state tuition. These students now were able to reduce their hours working (often at quasi-legal jobs), go to school full-time, finish their schooling and either return to Palau or continue working in the United States. These persons would probably be considered “pre-Compact” migrants. Once again, it is not clear whether the children of these migrants, many of whom have a non-Micronesian mother or father and have been outside of the Guam, the CNMI or the United States, should be considered “Compact” persons or not.

3.1 DEFINING “PRE-COMPACT” AND “POST-COMPACT” MIGRANTS

In order to assess the impact of the Compacts of Free Association, it is first necessary to define who is a “pre-Compact” and “post-Compact” migrant. It is possible, as the Government of Guam does in its impact report, to define any person born in Palau, the FSM or the Marshall Islands – whether pre- or post-Compact – as having an impact on social and educational services. It is also possible to adopt the Compact reporting requirements and to look solely at the burden caused by Compact implementation, which means considering only post-Compact migrants. As discussed earlier, this report does not assess the impact of Compact implementation. However, in order to facilitate the use of the information provided in this report, both pre- and post-Compact migrants are included in the analysis. Also, because the 1997/8 Censuses of Micronesian Migrants enumerated households with at least one Micronesian migrant, the data includes the children of Micronesian migrants as well as their non-Micronesian relatives. The members of these households are classified in one of the four following ways:

1. Post-Compact Migrants are those who migrated after implementation of the Compacts of Free Association (after 1986 for persons born in the Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic of the Marshall Islands and after 1994 for persons born in the Republic of Palau).

2. Children of Micronesian Migrants are those children who were not born in one of the Freely Associated States and who have at least one Micronesian-born parent. All children of Micronesian migrants are included in this category, whether or not their parent(s) came before or after the implementation of the Compacts of Free Association, because it is often difficult to determine their pre- and post-Compact “status.” For example, if a child has at least one Micronesian parent present in the household, a link could be made and the information about pre- or post-Compact migration could be determined. However, if a child has two Micronesian parents present who migrated at different times, or if neither parent was present, ambiguities occurred. For this study, it was decided to include all U.S. or territory-born children of Freely Associated States migrants in the category of children of Micronesian migrants

3. Pre-Compact migrants are those who migrated to Guam, the CNMI, or Hawaii before implementation of the Compacts of Free Association (before 1987 for persons born in the FSM or the Marshall Islands or before 1995 for persons born in Palau).

4. Other persons are all non-Micronesian persons living in a household with at least one Micronesian migrant. In most cases, these were non-Micronesian spouses and persons related to those spouses. In some cases, particularly in the CNMI, maids or other household workers might also be included.

Clear definitions of these migrant categories are essential to determine the impact of the population on the receiving areas. This is because the number of “Compact” persons depends on how they are classified. If we look at all persons in households with at least one Micronesian migrant, the total “impact population” would be greater and its characteristics would be different than if we looked only at the migrants themselves. The same is true if we looked only at the post-Compact migrants; we would have a different population with a different impact. It is not the purpose of this exercise to state which set of persons is the “true” impact population. The wording of the Compact law is sufficiently obscure that different populations can be selected for analysis, depending on the actual criteria selected.

Because of the Office of Insular Affairs, Department of the Interior’s reading of the Compact law, this report will focus on two groups: 1) the pre-Compact migrants and 2) the post-Compact migrants and all the children born of Freely Associated States immigrants not born in Micronesia. In order to assess the maximum impact that immigration initiated by Compact implementation is having on Guam, the CNMI and Hawaii, all non-migrant children are included in the post-Compact category, regardless of the when their parents actually arrived in the receiving areas.

It is important to remember that when households had members of more than one Freely Associated States, the household was placed in one or the other groups, usually by the enumerator who got to the house first (but finally determined by the Census coordinator). This situation did not happen very often and should not have appreciably affected the results. Hence, in a few cases, when a Chuukese married a Palauan, for example, the individuals would appear in their appropriate country statistics, but the household characteristics would only appear for one or the other.

The distribution of migrants among the pre-migrant, post-migrant, children of migrants and other persons categories varies among both receiving states and among the Palauan, FSM and RMI migrant communities. Table 3.1 shows the number of persons enumerated by the census of Micronesian migrants in Hawaii. As can be seen, the census collected information on 6,744 persons. Almost 5,000 were post-Compact migrants, 700 were children of migrants, and 600 were pre-Compact migrants. About 3,800 persons were enumerated as FSM migrants and their families, 2,500 Marshallese, and about 500 Palauans.

Table 3.2 shows that of the 6,744 persons enumerated in Hawaii, 82 percent were post-Compact migrants or their children (71 percent were post-Compact migrants only and 10 percent were their non-Micronesian born children), 9 percent were pre-Compact migrants and 9 percent were other persons. Based on the largest groups of persons in the household, 486 (7 percent) were Palauan, 3,786 (56 percent) were associated with the Federated States of Micronesia, and 2,472 (37 percent) were associated with the Marshall Islands.

Table 3.3 shows the number of persons enumerated by the census of Micronesian migrants in Guam. The census collected information on 8,338 persons. The 5,446 post-Compact migrants constituted the largest group, but Guam also had 730 pre-Compact migrants and more than 1,100 children. The FSM migrants were the overwhelming majority, with very few enumerated from the Marshall Islands.

Table 3.4 shows that of the 8,338 persons, 79 percent were post-Compact migrants or their children (65 percent were post-Compact migrants only and 13 percent were their non-Micronesian born children), 9 percent were pre-Compact migrants and 13 percent were other persons. Based on the largest groups of persons in the household, 1,257 (15 percent) were Palauan, 6,949 (83 percent) were associated with the Federated States of Micronesia, and 132 (2 percent) were associated with the Marshall Islands.

Table 3.5 shows the number of persons enumerated by the census of Micronesian migrants in the CNMI. The census collected information on 4,469 persons. About 1,200 were post-Compact migrants, 600 were children of migrants, and another 1,200 were pre-Compact migrants. The other persons were not migrants or their children, but could have been third or later generation persons of Micronesian migrant ethnicities. For example, the children of children of Palauan migrants would not be included because neither they nor their parents were born outside of the CNMI.

Of the 4,500 migrants to the CNMI, 39 percent were post-Compact migrants or their children (27 percent were post-Compact migrants only and 13 percent were their non-Micronesian born children), 27 percent were pre-Compact migrants and 34 percent were other persons (Table 3.6). The percentage of post-Compact migrants in the CNMI is smaller than either Guam or Hawaii, which can be partially explained by the later implementation of the Compact in Palau. Based on the largest groups of persons in the household, 2,154 (48 percent) were from Palau, 2,199 (49 percent) were associated with the Federated States of Micronesia, and 116 (3 percent) were associated with the Marshall Islands. Clearly, Marshallese migrants were much more likely to go to Hawaii than either Guam or the CNMI, probably because Hawaii is closer to the Marshalls and has more affordable housing, food and other amenities.

Table 3.7 shows the number of persons enumerated by all three censuses. In total, the censuses collected information on 19,551 persons. Of these, more than 11,000 were post-Compact migrants, and another 2,400 were the children of migrants. About 2,500 were pre-Compact migrants. And, about 3,000 other persons lived in these households. The FSM enumerated population was about 2/3^rd of the total for the three areas. RMI also contributed substantially to the post-Compact component, while most of the Palauans, partly because of the later Compact implementation date, were mostly pre-Compact migrants.

Of the 20,000 persons in the three censuses, 71 percent were post-Compact migrants or their children (59 percent were post-Compact migrants only and 12 percent were their non-Micronesian born children), 13 percent were pre-Compact migrants and 16 percent were other persons (Table 3.8). Approximately 20 percent were from Palau, 66 percent were associated with the Federated States of Micronesia, and 14 percent were associated with the Marshall Islands.

We will look at just two variables using the various selection criteria to get a better idea of how the migrant categories might influence the extent of the impact of the immigration resulting for the implementation of the Compacts of Free Association.

Table 3.9 shows the labor force participation rates of the 4,715 persons over the age of 16 in the labor force for Freely Associated States in Hawaii. The total labor force participation rates was 47 percent., meaning that less than half of the population 16 years and over was in the labor force (whether employed or unemployed). However, 58 percent of the Palauan adults were in the labor force, compared to 54 percent of the FSM associated persons but only 33 percent of the Marshallese.

More than 58 percent of the pre-Compact migrants were in the labor force (60 percent of the Palauans, 66 percent of the FSM migrants, and 46 percent of the Marshallese), compared to only 45 percent of the post-Compact migrants. This latter figure is not completely surprising since many of the migrants arrived in Hawaii only shortly before the census. These persons may not have had time to get a job, or, like many persons just joining the work force, may have been moving in and out of entry level jobs until they established themselves as workers. About 48 percent of the Palauans, 53 percent of the FSM migrants, and 30 percent of the Marshallese post-Compact migrants were in the labor force.

It is also important to note that about 55 percent of the “others” in Freely Associated States households were in the labor force, significantly higher than the Freely Associated States migrants themselves, indicating that marriage to outsiders boosts labor force participation within the household. Almost 2/3rds of the “others” in Palau associated households were in the labor force compared to about half of those in FSM and Marshall Islands households.

So, the rates of labor force participation for the Freely Associated States migrants change depending on the criteria for selection for inclusion in the “impact” population.

A second variable – per capita income – further illustrates the differences caused, depending on selection criteria. Per capita income is calculated by dividing all of the income obtained by a population in a year by the number of people in that population. Income from all sources C earnings, own business income, interest and dividends, welfare, etc C is usually included in the per capita income determination, as it is here. The per capita income for 1996 for the post-Compact migrants and their children in the 1997 Hawaii Census of Micronesian Migrant was $3,759 (Table 3.10). The per capita income for post-Compact Palau associated migrants was $4,688, more than that of either FSM ($4,213) or the Marshall Islands ($2,977). Pre-Compact migrants presented a much more positive impact. They had per capita incomes of about $13,622 -- $15,372 for Palauans, $17,629 for FSM, but only $6,770 for RMI.

The Marshallese had the lowest per capita incomes across the board, but even here, the pre-Compact per capita income of almost $7,000 was more than double that of the post-Compact migrants showing that length of residence has a positive impact on income levels (as represented by the per capita numbers). Once again, the per capita income levels change rather dramatically depending on what criteria are used to determine the “impact” population.

We can summarize the distribution of pre-Compact and post-Compact migrants and their children for the three sending areas and three receiving areas, as in Table 3.11. As noted before, of the 16,346 migrants and children, 7,280 were in Guam in 1997, 6,119 were in Hawaii in 1997, and 2,947 were in the CNMI in 1998. Almost 12,000 of the migrants were from the FSM, while about 2,500 came from the Marshall Islands, and less than 2,000 from Palau (which was still about 1/6^th of the Palau-born population in Palau itself.)

Of the 16,000 migrants and children, almost 14,000 (85 percent) were post-Compact migrants and their children, and about 2,500 (15 percent) were pre-Compact migrants. This last group was heavily influenced by the late implementation of the Palau Compact – 1,500 (more than 60 percent) of the 2,500 were Palau born.

The influence of the post-Compact migrants is also seen in the distribution of the three sending and receiving areas’ migrants attending public elementary and high school. More than 3,184 migrants (and children) were enrolled in public school in the three areas in 1997/8 – 1,360 in Guam in 1997, 1,192 in Hawaii in 1997, and 632 in the CNMI in 1998 (Table 3.12). Of these, 2,250 (more than 70 percent) were from the FSM, 705 (22 percent) from the Marshalls, and 229 (about 7 percent) were from Palau. As before, the majority of the pre-Compact migrants (131 of the 212 – or 62 percent) were Palauan, and most of those were in the CNMI.

These tables show that the numbers of migrants are small in international terms, and even compared to the size of the receiving populations of Guam, Hawaii, and the CNMI. But, the migrant populations are very large as a segment of the sending populations.

Finally, Table 3.13 shows another aspect of the difficulties in determining exactly who should and who should not be included in an analysis of the impact of the Micronesian migrants. Only migrants and their children are included; non-FAS spouses and other relatives are excluded. Of the 16,346 first and second generation migrants in the three areas, more than 2,000 were actually born in the receiving areas. Most of these children, of course, had parents born in the FSM, but about 300 had parents born in the Marshalls and about 50 had parents born in Palau. Hence, 87 percent of the migrants and children were born outside the receiving area – 85 percent of the FSM migrants were born outside of the receiving areas compared to 89 percent of the Marshallese and 97 percent of the Palauans.

The data show a snapshot of the population at the time of enumeration. The migration flows show generally increased migration in the two-year periods in the 1990s. Of course, we show only net migration. It is important to remember in assessing flows that some return migration also occurs over time, so it is dangerous to use estimates from continuing sources. Tax data, for example, will include persons who were in an area some time during the year – some people might be in the area at the beginning of the year and leave, others might come to the area partway through. Depending on when the census is taken, we might count both of these individuals, only one of them, or neither. The snapshot approach is not perfect, but it does allow us to see a kind of change over time by taking a series of snapshots, and then assessing what we have.

In this paper we use additional sources, besides the series of Office of Insular Affairs Surveys: The United States collected the 1990 Decennial Census on Guam and in the CNMI. These data sets are used here, in both published and unpublished form, to provide insight into the numbers and characteristics of pre- and post-Compact Micronesian migrants. During the early 1990s, the Office of Insular Affairs, Department of the Interior, funded two surveys: the first, a 1992 census of Micronesians residing on Guam, was supervised by Donald Rubinstein, an anthropologist at the University of Guam. The second funded survey was a 1993 survey of Micronesians (from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau) residing in the CNMI. Data from the 1995 Census of the Northern Mariana Islands are also being used, with the approval of the Central Statistics Division, Department of Commerce, CNMI. The University of Guam collected a survey of Palauans on Guam in 1995. Some data from that survey are used here. Finally, in 1997, the Office of Insular Affairs funded censuses of Micronesian Migrants to Hawaii, Guam, and the CNMI.

CHAPTER 4

NUMBERS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF MICRONESIAN MIGRANTS IN GUAM

In this and the next two Chapters we will look only at the post-Compact migrants and their children. We already described how the different sets of migrants were identified. At the International Programs Center, we wrote a computer program in the Census Bureau’s Integrated Microcomputer Processing System (IMPS) Consistency and Correction (CONCOR) edit package to add a variable to each person and housing record for the 1997 Censuses of Micronesian Migrants to Hawaii and Guam and the 1998 Census of Micronesian Migrants to the CNMI to indicate migration group for that person.

For the CNMI, in addition to the 1998 Census of Micronesian Migrants to Saipan, we used the 1995 CNMI Census results to obtain more information about Freely Associated States migrant trends to the Commonwealth. Also, in order to see changes in the post-Compact migrant populations, we also used data from the 1990 Censuses of the CNMI and Guam. As noted elsewhere in this paper, the 1990 Census of Hawaii could not provide useful comparative data, so the data presented here use data only from the 1997/8 Censuses of Micronesian migrants.

In order to use the 1990 Census data for Guam and CNMI and the 1995 CNMI data, Michael T. Stroot of the Census Bureau’s International Programs Center and the author developed a research subset from the censuses. The subset contained only those households containing at least one person born in one of the Freely Associated States areas – Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Marshall Islands. These new data sets were comparable to the data sets collected in the 1997/8 Censuses of Micronesian Migrants to Hawaii, Guam, and the CNMI, since in 1997/8, we collected data only from households having at least one Micronesian migrant. So, the analysis uses the following data sets: the 1990 Guam Census subset and data from the 1997 Census of Micronesian Migrants to Guam; the 1990 and 1995 CNMI Censuses, and the 1998 Saipan Census of Micronesian migrants; and, the 1997 Census of Micronesian Migrants to Hawaii.

4.1 Demography

The earliest Micronesian migrants to Guam – like the earliest migrants in most migration streams – were predominantly young males in search of jobs. Many of the original households were inherently unstable, composed as they were of several young men in their twenties or thirties working at low-paying jobs and pooling their income to cover rent and other expenditures (Hezel and McGrath 1989:58-60). In the absence of a more viable authority structure and generational depth, such "peer-group households," as Rubinstein terms them, were continually "dissolving and reforming, with new arrivals coming in, others moving out" (Rubinstein 1993:260). Rubinstein went on to note the gradual evolution of this fragile type of household into more typically Micronesian forms.

And, as in most migration flows, in the second stage of the pattern Rubinstein identified on Guam, two-generation households emerged around a nuclear family, but they contained a potpourri of loosely related kin and friends. Later on, household membership followed kinship principles similar to those back home, with grandparents and other older people being added, giving households important generational depth (Rubinstein 1993:260-261).

Guam has had a broad range of migrant household types, extending from "peer-group households" to the much more stable types that mirror social organization in the migrant's home islands. Data on gender and age distribution of migrants in Guam show how far households in each place have advanced along Rubinstein's spectrum.

Table 4.1 shows some demographic characteristics of the Micronesian migrants and their children in Guam. Because of the very small sample size, information about the pre-Compact Marshallese for this and the following tables in this Chapter will not be shown. The 1997 Census reported a total of 7,280 Micronesian migrants, including 730 pre-Compact migrants and 6,550 post-Compact migrants and children. Of the 6,550 post-Compact migrants, 97 percent were from the Federated States of Micronesia, 2 percent were from the Marshall Islands, and approximately 2 percent were from Palau. Of the total post-Compact migrant category, 1,104, or approximately 17 percent, were the children of Freely Associated States-born persons.

The sex ratio for the pre-Compact migrants was 100, indicating that the number of males was the same as the number of females in the population. Among the post-Compact migrants, the ratio was 83, showing more females than males. However, the sex ratios varied among the three Freely Associated States groups. The pre-Compact sex ratio of FSM was 141, indicating a large surplus of males, while the post-Compact ratio of 103 is more balanced, indicating the sex ratio has only slightly more males than females. Among the Marshallese, the post-Compact sex ratio was 120, indicating a surplus of males. The sex ratio of the pre-Compact Palauan community, however, was 82, indicating a surplus of females, while the post-Compact ratio was 100, indicating a balance between the sexes.

The median age of the post-Compact migrants and their children was 21.7 years, while the median age of the pre-Compact migrants was 37.4, almost 16 years older than the post-Compact migrants. This age difference has two aspects. First, the pre-Compact migrants have been residents of Guam for a longer period than the post-Compact migrants. Second, the post-Compact migrants include all children born of Freely Associated States-born persons who were not born in the Freely Associated States, which would lower the median age. Of the post-Compact migrants, the Palauans were the oldest (24.3 years), followed by the FSM (21.7 years) and the Marshallese (17.5 years). Among the pre-Compact migrants, the Palauans were the oldest (41.1 years) followed by the migrants from FSM (34.9 years).

Of the 6,550 post-Compact migrants to Hawaii, approximately 35 percent were less than 15 years old, while about 40 percent were between 15 and 29 years, indicating that many migrants were coming as young families. The post-Compact Marshallese migrants had the largest percentage of children, with 43 percent less than 15 years old. Approximately 35 percent of the FSM and 21 percent of the Palauan post-Compact migrants were less than 15 years old. The low proportion[4] may be the result of the relatively shorter period of post-Compact migration time Palauans had (three years) compared to Marshallese and FSM migrants (10 years), which could have limited Palauan household formation in Hawaii. In fact, 48 percent of Palauan post-Compact migrants were 15 to 29 years old, compared to 35 percent of the Marshallese and 39 percent of the FSM post-Compact migrants. Approximately 19 percent of all post-Compact migrants were 30 to 44 years, while less than 7 percent were 45 years or older.

With 69 percent of the total population below the age of 30, clearly, the Micronesian migrant community in Guam was a young population in 1997. This youth is reflected in the proportion of never-married pre- and post-Compact migrants. Approximately 52 percent of the adult post- and 22 percent of the pre-Compact males were never married, compared 44 percent of the adult post- and 19 percent of the pre-Compact females were never married.

The average household size of the 979 post-Compact Freely Associated States households was 6.7 persons B 6.8 for the FSM households, 5.6 for the Marshall Islanders, and 3.9 for the Palauan households. The average family size was 7.0 persons B 7.1 for the FSM households, 5.9 for the Marshallese and 5.7 for the Palauans. As expected, because one-person households were not included in the calculation of the average family size, average family size was larger than average household size.

Migration Trends from 1990 to 1997. We use the 1990 Census of Guam and the 1997 Census of the Micronesian Migrants to show trends during the 1990s. Table 4.1a shows some of the basic demographic characteristics these migrants from the Freely Associated States (Freely Associated States) to Guam.

As noted in the methodology section, we are showing here only persons who migrated after the Compacts of Free Association were implemented C 1987 for migrants from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) C and children of migrants (no matter when they migrated.) All children were included because they were either migrants themselves, and therefore in the first category if they migrated after compact implementation, or were children of householders who were not born in the Freely Associated States, but who had at least one parent born there.

The number of post-Compact migrants and their children more than doubled between 1990 and 1997, from 2,739 persons in 1990 to 6,550 in 1997. The percentage increase for males was much less than for females, as shown in the number of males for every 100 females, which decreased from 117 in 1990 to 83 in 1997. The selective migration of females shows increasing family unification as well as increased migrant female labor force participation. The median age increased by about one year between 1990, from 21 in 1990 to 22 in 1997, showing an aging of the resident Micronesian migrant population, and possibly an increase in older migrants.

The aging of the population is also shown in the percentage distribution by age group. While the percentage of those under 15 years old slightly increased (and, of course, the numbers continued to increase, so the impact on elementary schools continued to rise), the percentage in the 15 to 29 year group decreased sharply, while the percentage 20 to 59 increased sharply.

More families were moving to Guam as the period of the compact continued, and they were more likely to live in smaller households. In 1990 about 6 in every 10 males 15 years and over were never married, but this proportion decreased to about half in 1997; similarly, the percentage of never married females also declined. The number of post-Compact households increased from 331 to 979 during the period, while the number of persons per household (and per family) decreased from more than 8 in 1990 to less than 7 in 1997. This decrease was more than one person per household, but still well above Guam=s overall average.

Since the Republic of Palau did not implement its Compact of Free Association until October 1, 1994, the 1990 Census data could show no post-Compact Palau migration; hence, only the 1997 Guam data for Palau born (and offspring) are shown in the table. And, since only 102 post-Compact Palau migrants went to Guam, the numbers are essentially too small to discuss. The number of Marshall Islands migrants increased from 76 to 123 during the period (with the increase in female migrants much greater than male migrants), but with the numbers being so small that the numbers also are too small to show very much. Between 1990 and 1997, the percentage of never married adult Marshallese decreased to less than half of the total, and the persons per household decreased by 50 percent, from more than 12 per household to less than 6.

The FSM migration was very similar to the migration for all Freely Associated States, as would be expected since most of the migrants were from the FSM.

4.2 Citizenship and Residency Status

Citizenship is collected in most censuses and population surveys, and, in the U.S. Areas, the focus is on U.S. citizenship. Since persons born in Freely Associated States cannot be citizens by birth, they can only become U.S. citizens through Naturalization (or by having one U.S. born parent). And clearly, the longer the residence is in a U.S. Area, the more likely a person would be to become a citizen.

Table 4.2 shows the citizenship status and place of residence one and five years ago of the Micronesian migrants and their children in Guam. (See Appendix B for definitions of terms used.) Approximately 9 percent of the pre- and 17 percent of the post-Compact migrants were citizens. In general, the proportion of post-Compact migrants who were citizens was higher than the proportion of pre-Compact migrants, because the post-Compact category included all children of the Freely Associated States migrants born in the United States.

Of the non-citizens, about 18 percent of the post-Compact migrants were permanent residents compared to 50 percent of the pre-Compact migrants. In each of the Freely Associated States groups, a higher proportion of pre-Compact migrants than post-Compact migrants were permanent residents, which reflects the longer settlement period experienced by the pre-Compact migrants. About 28 percent of the FSM and 62 percent of the Palauan pre-Compact migrants were permanent residents. Among the pre-Compact migrants, 34 percent of the Palauan, 22 percent of the Marshallese and 18 percent of the FSM post-Compact migrants were permanent residents.

Table 4.2 also shows information on the place of residence one and five years prior to the 1997 Census. Approximately 19 percent of the post- and 59 percent of the pre-Compact migrants lived in the same residence in 1997 as they did in 1992. Not surprisingly, a larger proportion of post-Compact migrants (44 percent) lived outside Guam five years before than pre-Compact migrants (7 percent). Approximately 62 percent of the post-Compact migrants lived in the same residence in 1996 as they did in 1997, with only about 23 percent living outside of Guam in 1996. The largest groups of pre-Compact residence (90 percent) lived in the same house one year prior as they did in 1997.

Post-Compact Marshallese (58 percent) were the most likely to live outside of Guam five years earlier, followed by the post-Compact Palauans (55 percent), while the post-Compact Palauans were the most likely to live outside of Guam one year earlier, which probably reflects the later Compact implementation date. The pre-Compact Palauans were the most likely to have lived in the same house either one (95 percent) or five (73 percent) years earlier.

Migration trends. The 1990 census and the recent censuses also collected self-reported information on whether the respondent considered him/herself to be a permanent or temporary resident. Permanent residence indicated a desire to remain, that immigration was for the purpose of settling in and remaining over the very long term. “Temporary” residence being more like a “trip”, as a transition from adolescence to adulthood (Levin 1976). Many young people in Micronesia, like their distant and recent ancestors use a trip as a method of moving from one extended family to the next.

Table 4.2a shows some migration characteristics for the Freely Associated States migrants. The percentage of U.S. citizens among the post-Compact migrants (and offspring) decreased from 24 percent in the 1990 Census, to about 17 percent in 1997. It is important to remember here that the 1990 Census was conducted, for the most part, by non-Micronesian interviewers who probably did not understand the Compact relationships, and who may have intimidated the Micronesian respondents into self-reporting U.S. citizenship even when citizenship requirements were not met. Marshallese were more likely to report U.S. citizenship in 1990 (2 in every 5 persons), than in 1997 (only about 3 in 20).

In both 1990 and 1997, for those persons who reported that they were not U.S. citizens, the census requested whether the migration was Apermanent” or Atemporary”, but these categories are self-determined, and it is not known whether enumerator training and practice actually were the same in the two censuses. These categories are not conventional Census Bureau categories, and were included at the request of Guam and the other Insular Areas in 1990, so are open to interpretation.

Of the Freely Associated States noncitizens in 1990, 45 percent were permanent noncitizens, compared to 22 percent in 1997, indicating that by 1997 about 4 in every 5 Micronesian migrants did not intend to stay permanently on Guam. These Atemporary migrants may have come for schooling or medical treatment, but they are more likely to have migrated to take advantage of the Compact’s provisions about free entry to work for a while, with the intention of returning to their respective nations some time later.

The percentage of persons who lived in the same house 5 years before the census increased from 8 percent in 1990 to 19 percent in 1997 (both the numbers and percentages more than doubling during the 7 year period). What this means is that many of the Micronesians had established themselves by 1997, and were living in housing on a more permanent basis. Similarly, the percentage of the Micronesians who had lived outside Guam 5 years before the census decreased rapidly, from 85 percent in 1990 to 44 percent in 1997. The percentage decreases for the FSM and RMI migrants were about the same as for the Freely Associated States total population.

Only the 1997 Census had an item on residence one year before the census. About 7 in every 10 Micronesians lived in the same house in 1996 as 1997, and only about 1 in every 8 lived outside of Guam in 1996. Palauans were most likely to have lived outside one year before the census, Marshallese least likely.

4.3 Reasons for Migrating

Table 4.3 shows the reasons for migrating by sex for both the pre- and post-Compact migrants. Even though the amount of migration increased dramatically since the implementation of the Compact, the reasons given for emigration by both pre- and post-Compact migrants have remained basically unchanged.

The largest groups of pre-Compact migrants left for schooling (35 percent), employment (32 percent) or as a spouse (10 percent) or dependent (11 percent) of an employed person. The three main reasons post-Compact migrants moved were employment (44 percent), as a spouse (7 percent) or dependent (25 percent) and schooling (16 percent). Not surprisingly, when comparing the pre- and post-Compact groups, the proportion emigrating for reasons of employment was larger for the later group who could migrate freely, while education was greater for the earlier group who had to migrate for education. Spousal emigration also was a smaller percentage, while dependent emigration was a larger portion, possibly reflecting an increase in the percent of never married immigrants among the post-Compact migrants.

This pattern held for the FSM migrant groups, not surprising since they represented 97 percent of the Micronesian migrant community. One difference from the more general pattern is that the proportion of FSM migrants coming to Guam for a visit or vacation was twice as large – approximately 2 percent compared to 4 percent. Among male and female migrants, the only difference was in the proportion who came to Guam as either a spouse or dependent of an employed person. Among FSM males, the proportion migrating as a spouse remained low and unchanged, while the proportion emigrating as a dependent was almost 3 times as large. Among FSM females, the proportion emigrating as a spouse was smaller, while the proportion emigrating as a dependent was larger.

The very few pre-Compact Marshallese migrants did not provide enough information on the changes in the reasons for migrating. However, differences varied in the reasons why male and female Marshallese migrated. The largest groups of Marshallese males migrated for employment (33 percent), as a dependent of an employed person (33 percent) or for school (24 percent).

For Palau, more pre-Compact migrants were in Guam than post-Compact migrants, reflecting the shorter post-Compact migration period or indicating a decline in the amount of Palauan immigration through time. Along with this smaller number, the reasons given for migration also changed. The percent of Palauans immigrating for reasons of employment or as either a spouse or dependent of an employed person was lower for the pre-Compact migrants, but the percent immigrating for education was higher. However, this pattern was different for male and female immigrants. The proportion of males emigrating for visits or vacation was greater for the post-Compact migrants, while the proportion emigrating for employment or as a dependent of employed was less. The proportion emigrating as a spouse of an employed person or for school was about the same. The proportion of females emigrating for visits or vacations was about the same for both groups, while the proportion emigrating for employment or as a spouse of an employed person was lower for the post-Compact migrants. The proportion emigrating for school or as a dependent of an employed person was greater for post-Compact migrants.

Migration trends. Although the 1990 Censuses did not ask questions about the reasons for migration, the 1997 Census of Micronesian migrants did ask this item to all persons not born on Guam. Of those, 43 percent of the migrants migrated for Aemployment@, but others migrated either as the spouse or children of a migrant who came to work (Table 4.2a).

The decennial censuses and many of the surveys in the Insular Areas collect data on short and long term migration. Basic long-term migration data are obtained from the item on birthplace, which is used in this paper as the basic identifier and gives migration since birth. A second long-term migration measure is generational migration which shows movement from one generation to the next (and which we are not showing here). The citizenship item obtained information about long term migration.

We have already discussed one of the short-term migration variables – year of arrival at the new destination. Another is to look at a specific point in the past, usually 5 years before the census or survey, but sometimes 1 year before. The 1990 and 1997 Censuses also asked questions on residence 5 years before the census, and the 1997 Census asked an item on residence one year before the census.

4.4 Social Characteristics

Table 4.4 includes information about selected social characteristics of the pre- and post-Compact migrants and their children, including language spoken at home, school enrollment and educational attainment. About 16 percent of the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants aged 5 years and over spoke English at home compared to 20 percent of the pre-Compact migrants. Of the post-Compact migrants, Palauans (25 percent) were the most likely to speak English at home, followed by migrants from FSM (16 percent) and the Marshalls (6 percent). Approximately 75 percent of the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants spoke a language other than English more frequently at home, compared to only 41 percent of the pre-Compact migrants. Among the post-Compact migrants, the Marshallese (94 percent) were the most likely to speak a language other than English at home, followed by FSM (76 percent) and Palauan (34 percent) migrants.

In 1997, 1,829 pre- and post-Compact migrants were three years and over enrolled in school. Of those, 56 percent were enrolled in public elementary school, 19 percent in public high school and 16 percent in college. Of the total enrolled, 1,748, or 96 percent, were post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants or their children. Of the post-Compact migrants enrolled in school, 95 percent were FSM migrants, 3 percent were Marshallese and less than 2 percent were Palauan. Most of those enrolled were attending either public elementary school (57 percent) or public high school (19 percent). Approximately 250 post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants were attending college, either public or private.

Approximately 49 percent of post- and 74 percent of pre-Compact migrants aged 25 years and over had at least a high school diploma – that is, were high school graduates, had some college or a two-year degree, or a bachelor’s or graduate degree. Pre-Compact migrants had a higher proportion of persons who had some college or a two-year degree or a bachelor’s or graduate degree, but the post-Compact migrants had a higher proportion of high school graduates. However, compared to pre-Compact migrants, post-Compact migrants had a higher percentage of individuals with no education, grade 8 education or less and some high school. The differences between the pre- and post-Compact groups may be a result of the migration privileges associated with the Compact, which facilitated the emigration of a greater proportion of less-educated, and probably less-skilled, Micronesians. This pattern held for the FSM pre- and post-Compact groups. For the Palauans, a higher proportion of post-Compact migrants had grade 8 education or less and some college or a two-year degree, while the pre-Compact group had a higher proportion with some high school, a high school degree or a bachelor’s degree.

Among both the pre- and post-Compact migrants, larger proportions of females than males were less than high school graduates. However, the difference between pre- and post-Compact migrants was greater for females than for males. For example, 29 percent of the pre- and 56 percent of the post-Compact females had less than a high school education, compared to 23 percent of the pre- and 47 percent of the post-Compact males, indicating a larger proportional increase of less educated post-Compact females. Among post-Compact migrants, a lower proportion of females than males graduated high school, had some college or a two-year degree, or a bachelor’s or graduate degree. Among pre-Compact migrants, a lower proportion of females than males had some college or a two-year degree or a bachelor’s or graduate degree, but a higher proportion graduated high school.

Migration trends. Table 4.4a shows social characteristics for the Micronesian migrants to Guam in 1990 and 1997. The social characteristics selected for this study are language spoken at home, school enrollment, and educational attainment. The 1990 Census collected information on other topics, and the 1997 Census of Micronesian Migrants collected information on many more items, but these will be analyzed in a later report.

About 8 percent of the post-Compact Micronesian migrant population aged 5 years and over spoke English at home, as reported in the 1990 Census, compared to 15 percent in 1997. Of those who spoke a language other than English, about 2 in 3 spoke that language more than English in 1990, but that proportion increased to 3 in 4 in 1997. The percentages for the FSM were similar to the total, while the small number of Marshallese showed a different pattern – the percentage speaking only English decreased and the percentage speaking a language other than English who also spoke that language more than English increased considerably during the 7 year period. About 1 in every 4 Palau migrants spoke only English at home, and of those who spoke another language, about 1 in 3 spoke that language more than English.

About 1,400 post-Compact migrants 3 years and over in 1997 were enrolled in school, up considerably from the 800 in 1990. The number in public elementary schools increased from 351 in 1990 to 787 in 1997, and those in public high schools increased from 145 to 282 during the period. As noted, all post-Compact migrants who are children or are children of post-Compact migrants are included here, but children of migrants whose parents were also born on Guam or the U.S. were excluded. Most of the migrants in the table were from the Federated States of Micronesia, as would be expected. More than half of the enrolled Palauan migrants were in college. The number of post-Compact migrants in college increased from 151 to 211 during the 7 year period, and, of course, most of these migrants were from the Federated States of Micronesia.

As the migration from the Freely Association States continued over the decade, the percentage of high school and college graduates decreased, partly because of the lag between implementation of the Compact and large scale migration. Also, economic conditions worsened in the Federated States of Micronesia (which has been sending most of the migrants). About 60 percent of the post-Compact migration population 25 years and over in 1990 were high school graduates compared to 49 percent in 1997 (and 58 percent of the females in 1990 decreasing to 44 percent in 1990). The percentage of college graduates decreased from 8 percent in 1990 to about 2 percent in 1997.

The percentages for the FSM were similar to those for the whole population. More than 85 percent of the adult post-Compact Marshallese in 1997 were high school graduates, and 4 in every 5 of the Marshallese females. About 6 percent of the Marshallese were college graduates, including 7 percent of the females. And, for 1997, 77 percent of the Palauans were high school graduates and 8 percent were college graduates, including 80 percent of the females being high school graduates and almost 15 percent being college graduates.

In the 1996 Impact report (Levin, 1996) we showed educational levels of migrants and the resident FSM population in 1994. Since the older age cohorts, under-represented in the migrant communities, have had fewer opportunities for schooling since many were raised during the time of Japanese colonization, we selected only a mid-range age group (aged 25 to 44) in an effort to make a more meaningful comparison. For this age group, migrant communities in the CNMI and Guam had a significantly greater percentage of those who obtained their high school diplomas. Fully 53 percent of all FSM citizens on Guam in 1992 and nearly 59 percent in the CNMI in 1993 had finished high school, compared with less than 40 percent of the FSM resident population in 1994. As we progress up the educational ladder, however, the figures lean in the other direction. The percentage of those who had some college but did not finish their degree was roughly the same in all three populations, while the rate of college degree holders in the FSM was much higher than in either of the migrant communities abroad. Nearly 12 percent of all FSM residents aged 25 to 44 had either associate's or bachelor's degrees, whereas only 4 percent of the FSM migrants on Guam and about 3 percent of those in the CNMI had such degrees.

These data reveal that the outflow of migrants to Guam and the CNMI cannot be called a "brain drain" in the usual census of that term. They also confirm the suspicion that those Micronesians with the best degrees, and thus the brightest prospects for employment, will remain in the FSM and take the best jobs (Hezel and McGrath 1989:62). Those who have left home characteristically have been those with a high school diploma, or perhaps a year or two of college, who would be entering the labor pool in the FSM without the kind of credentials that would have given them a competitive edge in the battle for employment there.

4.5 Economic Characteristics

Table 4.5 shows labor force characteristics of the Micronesian migrants and their children aged 16 years and over. Of the 4,840 Freely Associated States migrants age 16 years and over on Guam, 4,144, or 86 percent, were post-Compact migrants. Fully 59 percent of the post-Compact migrants aged 16 years and over were in the labor force, which was slightly higher than the 57 percent of the pre-Compact migrants that were in the labor force. Among the FSM migrants, the proportion of pre-Compact migrants in the labor force was higher than that of the post-Compact migrants. The reverse was true for the Palauan migrants. A larger proportion of male than female pre- and post-Compact migrants were in the labor force. Approximately 70 percent of the pre- and post-Compact males were in the labor force, but 44 percent of the pre- and 47 percent of post-Compact females were in the labor force. Among the FSM migrant community, a higher proportion of male and female pre-Compact than post-Compact migrants were in the labor force. Among the Palauans, the proportion of pre- and post-Compact males in the labor force was about the same, but a higher proportion of post- than pre-Compact females were in the labor force. Among all the Freely Associated States groups, pre-Compact FSM males (74 percent) and females (54 percent) were the most likely to be in the labor force.

Approximately 10 percent of all Freely Associated States migrants and their children aged 16 years and over were unemployed. Among the post-Compact migrants, 13 percent were unemployed while only 4 percent of the pre-Compact migrants were unemployed. Unemployment was higher among the post-Compact FSM (13 percent), Marshallese (14 percent) and Palauan (8 percent) migrants. The proportion of unemployed was higher among the post-Compact migrants than among the pre-Compact group, a pattern that generally held for each of the Freely Associated States groups.

Unemployment for females was higher than for males. The pre-Compact unemployment rate of 5 percent for women was much lower than the post-Compact rate of 18 percent. Among the post-Compact female migrants, 25 percent of the Marshallese, 18 percent of the FSM and 15 percent of the Palauan migrants were unemployed. The pre-Compact unemployment rate of 4 percent for pre-Compact males was lower than the 10 percent for post-Compact males. Among the post-Compact males, 10 percent of the FSM, 5 percent of the Marshallese and 4 percent of the Palauan migrants were unemployed, while only 5 percent of the Marshallese and 4 percent of the Palauan pre-Compact migrants were unemployed.

Generally speaking, pre-Compact migrants worked more than post-Compact migrants. About 47 percent of the pre-Compact migrants worked in 1996, with 35 percent working the whole year, 44 percent working full-time and 34 percent working the whole year full-time. However, only 45 percent of the post-Compact migrants worked during 1996, with 30 percent working the whole year, 42 percent working full-time and 28 percent working the whole year full-time. Of the Freely Associated States groups, the pre-Compact FSM migrants were the most likely and the post-Compact Palauan migrants were the least likely to have worked during the previous year, the whole year, full-time and the whole year full-time. Approximately 79 percent of the males and 34 percent of the females worked in 1996.

Occupational and Industrial Concentration Among Freely Associated States Migrants

Table 4.5a shows the major occupation groups for employed pre- and post-Compact migrants aged 16 years and older. The largest groups (55 percent) of the Freely Associated States migrants and their children were employed in precision production and craft occupations. This occupational concentration can be seen in both the pre- and post-Compact categories. Approximately 45 percent of the pre-Compact and 57 percent of the post-Compact migrants were in this occupational category. However, differences between the pre- and post-Compact groups existed. Among the pre-Compact migrants, 24 percent were in agricultural, forestry and fishing occupations, 11 percent were in professional, technical and managerial occupations, while 10 percent were operators, fabricators and general laborers. Among the post-Compact migrants, 16 percent were operators, fabricators and general laborers, 15 percent were in agricultural, forestry and fishing, and less than 2 percent were in professional, technical and managerial occupations.

This pattern of occupational concentration can be generally seen among the Freely Associated States groups, although with some differences. The largest groups of all of the pre- and post-Compact Freely Associated States groups were in precision production and craft occupations. This proportion ranged from a high of 59 percent for the post-Compact Palauan community to a low of 44 percent for the pre-Compact FSM community. The second most common occupational category for most groups was agriculture, forestry and fishing. For the pre-Compact FSM and Palauan migrants and the post-Compact Marshallese and Palauan groups, the agricultural, forestry and fishing was the second most common occupation, ranging from a high of 26 percent for pre-Compact FSM migrants to a low of 15 percent for post-Compact FSM migrants. The third most common occupational category was operators, fabricators and laborers. This category was the second most common category for the post-Compact FSM migrants. Notably, 13 percent of the pre-Compact Palauan migrants were in professional, technical and managerial occupations.

The largest groups of both male and female pre- and post-Compact migrants were in precision production and crafts occupation. The post-Compact females had the highest percentage (62 percent) in precision production and crafts occupations. The second most common occupational category for women was agriculture, forestry and fishing. Approximately 21 percent of the post- and 35 percent of the pre-Compact women were in agriculture, forestry and fishing occupations. Approximately 10 percent of the pre-Compact women were in professional, technical and managerial occupations, but the largest groups of these were Palauan women. The second most common occupational category for post-Compact males was operators, fabricators and laborers (24 percent), followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (11 percent). The proportion of pre-Compact males was about the same in these two categories. Approximately 17 percent were in agriculture, forestry and fishing occupations, while 16 percent were operators, fabricators and laborers. About 11 percent of the pre-Compact males were in professional, technical and managerial professions, but, again, the largest groups of these were Palauan males.

In the precision production and craft category, the largest groups of employed Micronesians worked in the food and beverage preparation and service occupations (46 percent), which represented about 30 percent of the total employed labor force. Approximately 16 percent worked in cleaning and building service occupations (including personal service occupations) and about 10 percent worked as guards. Some differences existed between males and females. A greater proportion of females worked in food and beverage preparation and service occupations (64 percent) and in cleaning and building service occupations (24 percent) than males (35 percent and 10 percent, respectively). However, a greater proportion of males (14 percent) than females (3 percent) worked as guards. In general, in the precision production and craft category, males were less concentrated within certain occupations than women.

In the “operators, fabricators and laborers” category, the largest groups of employed Micronesians worked as helpers for either machine operators and tenders (22 percent) or the construction trades (19 percent), which together represent about 7 percent of the total labor force. Approximately 15 percent worked in unclassified manual occupations. Only 7 percent of the laborers in this occupational category were women, the largest groups (54 percent) being helpers for machine operators and tenders. In the agriculture, forestry and fishing category, the largest groups worked in general sales occupations (41 percent), which represented about 8 percent of the total labor force. Over 82 percent of these laborers were female. In fact, 54 percent of the laborers in this occupational category were females. The largest group of males in this category (39 percent) worked as either mail or message distributors or material clerks.

Table 4.5b shows the major industry groups by Freely Associated State for employed pre- and post-Compact migrants aged 16 years and older. The largest groups (69 percent) of the Freely Associated States migrants and their children were employed either in the retail trade (36 percent) or services (33 percent) industries. This pattern generally persisted among both the pre- and post-Compact and male and female migrants. However, more pre-Compact males (13 percent) and females (14 percent) than post-Compact males (5 percent) and females (4 percent) were in the transportation and communication industry, while more post-Compact males (16 percent) than pre-Compact males (10 percent) were in construction.

Among the Freely Associated States groups, the largest groups of the FSM migrants (36 percent) worked in retail trade, while the largest groups of the Marshallese (48 percent) and the Palauan (36 percent) worked in services. In all groups, a greater proportion of post-Compact migrants than pre-Compact migrants worked in the retail trade industry. More pre-Compact FSM and post-Compact Palauans worked in services than post-Compact FSM and pre-Compact Palauans.

In every Freely Associated States group, more females than males worked in the retail trade industry. Approximately 50 percent of the FSM and Marshallese and 33 percent of the Palauan females worked in retail trade, compared to 29 percent of the FSM, 33 percent of the Marshallese and 22 percent of the Palauan males. Approximately the same amount of FS and Marshallese males and females worked in services, but more Palauan females than males worked in services.

Within the retail trade industry, the largest groups (57 percent) worked in eating and drinking establishments (which represented about 24 percent of the total employed) and 25 percent worked in food and general merchandise stores. Differences occurred in the pattern of industry participation of men and women. Approximately 72 percent of the women and 43 percent of the men worked in eating and drinking establishments, while about 30 percent of the men and 21 percent of the women worked in food or general merchandise stores.

Within the service industry, 51 percent worked in hotels, rooming houses and other lodging places, which represented about 20 percent of the total labor force. About 15 percent worked within the business services sector and another 11 percent in the amusement and recreation services sector. The industry participation of men and women differed. Among the males, 44 percent worked in hotels, rooming houses or other lodging places, 19 percent in business services and 16 percent in amusement recreation services.

Migration trends. The number of post-Compact migrants 16 years and over increased from about 1,756 to 4,144 during the 7 year period (a doubling during the period) (Table 4.5c). The percentage in the labor force decreased from about 68 percent to 59 percent, while the unemployment rate increased from 11percent to 13 percent between the two censuses. The percentage of females in the labor force decreased from 49 percent in 1990 to 47 percent in 1997, while the percentage unemployed increased from 15 to 18 percent.

The next set of figures in the tables shows work in the whole year preceding the census. About 44 percent of the adults in 1997 had worked in the year before the census, a decrease from the 55 percent for the 1990 Census. And, when using the total adult population as the base, we find that the percentage who worked during the whole year (50 to 52 weeks) remained at about 29 percent. The percentage who worked full time (that is, 35 hours per week or more) in the year before the census decreased as well , from 49 percent to 42 percent, while the percentage who worked the whole year (50 to 52 weeks) full time (35 or more hours) remained at 28 percent.

Table 4.5d shows the distribution of the employed population by occupation, industry, and class of worker. The percentages for occupational categories sum to 100 percent, but persons who had “not stated” occupations are not shown separately; these “not stated” persons are left out of the percentage distribution to get a better idea of the distribution of known occupations. For the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants to Guam, the percentage distribution by occupation changed considerably during the 1990s. The percentage who were operators, fabricators, and laborers decreased from 30 percent in 1990 to 20 percent in 1997, while those in service occupations increased from 33 percent in 1990 to 48 percent in 1997. The percentage in managerial and professional occupations decreased slightly during the 7 years, while the percentage in technical, sales, and administrative support occupations increased during the period. As usual, the percentages for the FSM mirrored those for the Freely Associated States. Half of the Marshallese and Palauans in 1997 were in service occupations, followed by those in technical, sales and administrative support occupations, and those who were operators, fabricators, and laborers.

Only three categories of industry are shown in the table. Of these, we see that 37 percent of the employed post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants were in retail trade in 1997, up from 25 percent in 1990. A second category – all services – increased from 30 percent to 32 percent during the period, thus these two categories made up 56 percent of the industries in 1990, but about 70 percent in 1997. Hotels and motels, one sub-category of the service industry, increased from 11 percent of the employed post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants in 1990 to 17 percent in 1997; hence, more than 1 in every 6 of the employed migrants worked in hotels in 1997. The FSM migrants showed similar patterns to the whole population. For 1997, 4 in 10 of the Marshallese were in retail trade and half were in services (leaving only 10 percent in all other industries); for the Palauans, about 1 in 3 were in retail trade, and more than 4 in 10 in services.

Class of worker is roughly divided into those who worked in the private sector and those who worked in the public sector, but with separate categories for those who are self-employed or who worked for families without pay. The private sector percentage for post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants to Guam decreased from 95 percent in 1990 to 90 percent in 1997. The private sector percentages were high for all groups, and much higher than in any of the sending populations.

4.6 Income and Poverty

Table 4.6 shows the income characteristics of Micronesian migrants and their children, including household and family income, per capita income and poverty status. The median income is the mid-point value that divides the income distribution in half, with half of the distribution above and half below the mid-point. The mean income is the average of all income values.

As noted previously, the post-Compact Micronesian Migrants on Guam occupied 979 units compared to 356 pre-Compact units. Household and family income is based on the migration status of the householder only. Thus, if the householder was a post-Compact migrant, the whole household was considered post-Compact even if all of the other members were pre-Compact migrants. Similarly, the household became pre-Compact if the householder arrived before Compact implementation.

The median household income for the post-Compact Micronesian Migrants in the year before the Census (calendar 1996 for Hawaii and Guam, calendar 1997 for CNMI) was $12,747 compared to $12,096 for the pre-Compact migrant households (Table 4.6). That is, the values were essentially the same. Also, the mean household incomes were the same as well. The household income medians and means were about the same as the total for the FSM and Marshallese migrants, but somewhat lower for the Palauan households.

Family incomes were somewhat greater than household incomes, mostly because single person households are include in the household count, but a single person does not make a family – it takes two related people.

Table 4.6 also shows per capita income for Micronesian Migrants on Guam. Per capita income is obtained by summing all income for all persons in a category, and then dividing by the number of persons in that category. For example, the per capita income of all post-Compact migrants was $3,371 for the year before the census. The $3,371 figure was derived by aggregating all income obtained by post-Compact migrants from all sources, and then dividing by the sum of all the post-Compact migrants. The per capita income for pre-Compact migrants was twice as much, at $6,762. Per capita income was greater for Palauans, but less for the Marshallese.

Finally, the table also contains data on poverty levels for the Micronesian Migrants. Appendix B has definitions of the poverty universe and poverty levels. About 68 percent (more than 2/3^rd of the post-Compact migrants) were living below the U.S. poverty line, compared to 59 percent of the pre-Compact migrants. Using the US poverty figures for Guam is difficult, even with the non-migrant population, because factors are different – food and housing cost more on Guam, and other factors also distort use of the same measures. Nonetheless, the percent in povrty is high. The Marshallese were the most likely to be in poverty, the Palauans were the least likely, but ALL groups had more than half their populations living below the poverty line.

Migration trends. Finally, table 4.6a shows data for income and poverty from the two censuses for the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants. The number of Freely Associated States-householder households increased from 678 in 1990 to 979 in 1997 (although the income and poverty data are based on income in the year before the census.) The median household income in unadjusted dollars decreased from about $20,300 in 1989 to $12,747 in 1996; since the value decreased over time when not adjusted for inflation, if inflation were applied, the decrease in household income would be even greater. The median household income is that income which divides all household incomes in half, with half earning more than that amount, and half less. The mean income is the average income – the amount found when all income from all households is divided by the number of households. This value is more susceptible to skewing, since values at the edges – very high or very low incomes – have an impact of the mean. The mean household income for post-Compact householder households was higher than the median in both 1989 and 1996, decreasing from $27,700 to $18,200 during the period. As before, the Freely Associated States household incomes were similar to the total Freely Associated States.

Per capita income is obtained by taking all of the income for all persons from all sources and dividing by the number of persons in the group or category. The per capita income increased from $2,700 in 1989 to $3,400 in 1996, but these values are not adjusted for inflation, which, in this case, would show a more modest increase or a decline. The per capita income for the FSM migrants was the same as the total, but the per capita income for Marshallese migrants decreased during the period, from $2,900 to $2,500 during the 7 years. The per capita income for Palauans in 1996 was $4,400, significantly more than the average for all Freely Associated States migrants.

Five or six dollars an hour can seem like a regal salary to an islander who has just arrived from a place where the minimum wage may be little more than a dollar an hour. In fact, the high salaries to be made on Guam and in the CNMI are one of the main attractions of these places. Nonetheless, the average Micronesian salary is small by Guam or Saipan standards, and most migrants find themselves hard pressed to stretch their take home pay enough to provide all the necessities. These necessities include the high cost of housing, the need to buy all their food, and the outlay they are required to make for suitable clothes in the workplace.

Even so, the new jobs in Guam (and Hawaii and the CNMI) have created a substantial amount of additional income for the migrants. We need only recall that in 1992 FSM born earned an estimated $28 million on Guam and in 1993 another $10 million in the CNMI. We look at this later in more detail in Chapter 11. The remittances that economic planners have been anticipating since the beginning of the outflow have been slow in coming, though, because of the migrants' set-up needs in Guam and the CNMI. So far the major benefits those at home received from their relatives abroad were the cases of frozen chicken and boxes of secondhand clothing that were being shipped back regularly.

Finally, table 4.6a shows the numbers and percentages of persons in poverty in 1989 and 1996. The poverty universe is composed of persons in households (and excludes those in group quarters); the poverty universe increased from 4,156 to 6,550 during the 7 year period. The percentage of persons in poverty increased from 34 percent in 1989 to 68 percent in 1996. The table also shows percentages for different levels of poverty.

CHAPTER 5

NUMBERS & CHARACTERISTICS OF MICRONESIAN MIGRANTS IN THE CNMI

5.1 Demography

Table 5.1 shows selected demographic characteristics of the Micronesian migrants and their children. The 1998 Census reported a total of 2,947 Micronesian migrants in the CNMI, including 1,192 pre-Compact and 1,755 post-Compact migrants and children. Of the 1,744 post-Compact migrants, 86 percent were from the Federated States of Micronesia, 4 percent were from the Marshall Islands, and 10 percent were from Palau. Of the total post-Compact category, 571, or approximately 33 percent, were the children of Freely Associated States-born persons.

Because males are traditionally more likely to migrate internationally than females, migrant communities are likely to have more males, especially in the initial stages of its establishment. This male dominance is especially likely if the primary motive for emigration is economic opportunity. Females tend to migrate either as dependents of male migrants or, if male migration preceded female migration, in subsequent family-reunification flows. However, among the Micronesian migrants to the CNMI, more females than males migrated. The sex ratio for pre-Compact migrants was 101, indicating that the number of males slightly exceeded the number of females in the population. Among the post-Compact migrants the ratio was 92, showing a surplus of females.

Among the Freely Associated States groups, low sex ratios were common, indicating more females than males. The sex ratio of post-Compact Palauans was 107 (a surplus of males), but the sex ratio for the post-Compact FSM was close to 100 (equal numbers of each sex). However, the sex ratio for the post-Compact Marshallese and the pre-Compact Marshallese, FSM and Palauan Freely Associated States groups showed a surplus of females over males. The pre-Compact Marshallese migrants had a sex ratio of 64.

The median age of the post-Compact migrants and their children was 17.4 years, while the median age of the pre-Compact migrants was 34.8 years, a difference of more than 17 years. This age difference has two parts. First, the pre-Compact migrants were residents of the CNMI for a longer period than the post-Compact migrants. Second, the post-Compact migrants include all children of Freely Associated States-born persons who were not born in the Freely Associated States, which lowers the median age. Of the post-Compact migrants, Palauans were the oldest (18.5 years), followed by FSM migrants (17.4 years) and Marshallese (13.5). Among the pre-Compact migrants, Marshallese were the oldest (40 years), followed by FSM migrants (37 years) and Palauans (34 years).

Of the 1,755 post-Compact migrants in the CNMI, approximately 44 percent were younger than 15 years old while about 35 percent were between 15 and 29 years old, indicating that many migrants were coming as young families. The post-Compact Marshallese migrants had the largest percentage of children, with approximately 57 percent younger than 15 years old compared to 45 percent of the post-Compact FSM and 37 percent of the post-Compact Palauans. In general, the pre-Compact migrants were older than the post-Compact migrants. Approximately 79 percent of the post-Compact migrants were less than 30 years old compared to only 35 percent of the post-Compact migrants. Each of the Freely Associated States pre-Compact groups had less than 10 percent of their population younger than 15, but between 42 percent and 48 percent between the ages of 30 and 44 years.

With 61 percent of the total population below the age of 30, the Micronesian migrant community in the CNMI is a young population. The proportion of never married pre- and post-Compact migrants reflects this young age structure. Approximately 55 percent of the post-Compact males and 54 percent of the females were never married, while 31 percent of the pre-Compact males and 30 percent of the females were never married. Among the pre-Compact groups, Marshallese males (29 percent) and FSM migrants (27 percent) were the most likely to have been never married, while among the post-Compact groups, FSM males (52 percent) and females (53 percent) were the most likely to have been never married. Among each of the Freely Associated States groups, a higher proportion of the post-Compact than the pre-Compact females were never married .

The average household size of the 237 post-Compact Freely Associated States households was 7.4 persons – 7.1 for the FSM, 12.3 for the Marshalls and 9.4 for the Palauan households. The average family size was 8.9 persons – 8.3 for FSM, 18.5 for Marshallese and 14.8 for Palauan families. As expected, because one-person households were not included in the calculation of average family size, average family size was larger than average household size.

WALLY: DO THESE NUMBERS SOUND RIGHT TO YOU?? I CAN=T FIND MY #($@(*!! PRINTOUT TO DOUBLE CHECK THEM...

Migration Trends. The demographic change for the CNMI from 1990 to 1995 to 1998 is shown in table 5.1a. The number of post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants increased from 1,951 to 2,928 (about 50 percent) during the 5 years between the two censuses. The migrant population showed an apparent decline after that, to 1,755, but some of this decline has to do with selective migration, and a general aging of the population. After Compact implementation, movement became easier, so some persons resident in the CNMI before implementation, left for various reasons. In the 5 years between the two censuses, the number of females increased somewhat more than the males, as shown in the sex ratio, which decreased from 92 males for each 100 females to 89. This figure showed an increasing bias to females, which may be partially caused by females being more likely than males to be in the garment industry. The sex ratio reversed in the years between 1995 and 1998, and became slightly male in the most recent census.

The median age – that age cutting the population in half, with half being older and half younger -- increased between 1990 and 1995, from 16 years in 1990 to almost 18 years in 1995 and remained at about the same level in 1998. These figures are much lower than for Guam, indicating higher fertility and/or migration of young families rather than post-high school non-married individuals. The median age for FSM migrants increased slightly, from 16 to 17 years, while the Marshallese median age increased from 11 to 13.5 years.

The percentage distributions also showed a younger population than for Guam. The percentage of post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants less than 15 years old decreased from 47 percent in 1990 to 43 percent in 1995 and increased slightly in 1998. The 15 to 29 year group showed an even steeper decline, but the percentage 30 to 59 showed a sharp increase in the first half of the decade. The distribution for the Federated States of Micronesia migrants was similar to the total Freely Associated States distribution. As expected, about 2 out of every 3 Marshallese in 1990 were less than 15 years old, and that percentage only decreased to 55 percent in 1995, with all older groups being smaller than the percentages for the total Freely Associated States population

The percentage of never married adults decreased precipitously during the eight years, from 68 to 55 percent for males and from 65 to 54 percent for females, indicating, again, the increasingly likelihood that whole families were migrating, rather than individuals. The FSM migrants showed the same decreases as the total Freely Associated States and the Marshallese males showed a steep decline, with female Marshallese remaining about the same.

5.2 Citizenship and Residency Status

Table 5.2 shows the citizenship and place of residence one and five years ago of the Micronesian migrants and their children in the CNMI. Approximately 34 percent of the post- and 6 percent of the pre-Compact Freely Associated States migrants to CNMI were U.S. citizens at the time of the survey. Between 20 percent and 47 percent of all of the post-Compact migrants were citizens, while only between 5 percent and 11 percent of the pre-Compact migrants were citizens. In general, the proportion of post-Compact migrants was higher than the proportion of pre-Compact migrants, probably because the post-Compact category included all children of the Freely Associated States migrants born in the United States.

Of the non-citizens, about 43 percent of the post-Compact migrants were permanent residents, compared to 73 percent of the pre-Compact migrants. In each of the Freely Associated States groups, a higher proportion of pre-Compact migrants than post-Compact migrants were permanent residents, which probably reflects the longer settlement period experienced by the pre-Compact migrants. About 75 percent of the Palauan, 70 percent of the FSM and 61 percent of the pre-Compact migrants were permanent residents. Among the post-Compact migrants, 55 percent of the Palauan, 43 percent of the FSM and 18 percent of the Marshallese were permanent residents.

Table 5.2 also shows information on the place of residence one and five years prior to the 1998 Census. Approximately 29 percent of the post- and 43 percent of the pre-Compact migrants lived in the same residence in 1998 as they did in 1993. Not surprisingly, a larger proportion of post-Compact migrants (34 percent) lived outside the CNMI five years before than pre-Compact migrants (7 percent). Approximately 60 percent of the post-Compact migrants lived in the same residence in 1998 as they did in 1997, with only about 11 percent living outside of the CNMI in 1997. The largest groups of pre-Compact migrants (80 percent) lived in the same house one year prior as they did in 1998.

Post-Compact Palauan migrants were the most likely of all Freely Associated States groups to have lived outside of the CNMI either one (21 percent) or five (67 percent) years before, which probably reflects the later Compact implementation date. The pre-Compact FSM migrants were the most likely to have lived in the same house one (78 percent) year earlier. The pre-Compact FSM (44 percent) and the Marshallese (50 percent) were the most likely to have lived in the same house five years earlier.

Migration trends. The percentage of post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants (and children) who were U.S. Citizens decreased from 49 percent in 1990 to 43 percent in 1995 and 34 percent in 1998 (Table 5.2a). The large percentage of U.S. citizens in the first two censuses probably resulted from the long period of time that Saipan was the capital of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI). Also, Micronesians from Palau, what became the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands moved to Saipan to work in the TTPI government, and stayed on after the dissolution of that entity. Some married CNMI-born persons and eventually gained citizenship that way, others were the offspring of these unions. The percentages for the FSM were similar to those of the total Freely Associated States, but the percentage of U.S. citizens among the Marshallese was much higher – decreasing from 62 percent in 1990 to 52 percent in 1995 and 47 percent in 1998.

Of the non-citizens, about 29 percent were “permanent” residents in 1990, but this increased to 58 percent in 1995, then dropped again to 43 percent in 1998. This level of “permanent” migration, much higher than for Guam, indicates more commitment to migration than the “temporary” migration; again, both “permanent” and “temporary” migration were self-reported and so reflected the subjective views of the post-Compact migrants about their intentions. As before, reason for migration was not collected in 1990, but about 28 percent of the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants reported moving for employment in the 1995 Census. By 1998, this figure increased to 36 percent of the migrants, showing a more traditional migration pattern.

The proportion of post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants who lived in the same house 5 years before the census increased from 1 in 4 in 1990 to 3 in 10 in 1995 and 1998 (about 5 percentage points). The proportion who lived outside of the CNMI 5 years before the census decreased from 3 out of 4 in 1990 to 2 out of 5 in 1995 and 1 in 3 in 1998.

For 1995, about 64 percent lived in the same house in 1994 as 1995, but this decreased to 60 percent in the 1998 Census. Also, about 18 percent migrated from outside during the year before the 1995 Census compared to 11 period.

5.3 Reasons for Migrating

Table 5.3 shows the reasons for migrating by sex for pre- and post-Compact migrants. The largest groups of pre-Compact migrants left for employment (39 percent), as a spouse or dependent of an employed person (5 percent and 20 percent respectively) or for a visit or vacation (19 percent). The three main reasons post-Compact migrants moved were employment (36 percent), as a spouse or dependent of an employed person (6 percent or 24 percent respectively) or school (19 percent). When the pre- and post-Compact groups are compared, a greater proportion of post-Compact migrants than pre-Compact migrants departed as a spouse or dependent of an employed person and for school. The proportion of post-Compact migrants coming to the CNMI for employment and for visits or vacations declined between groups arriving in the pre- and post-Compact periods.

This pattern of change generally held for both the total males and females and for each of the Freely Associated States migrant groups. However, some differences existed. For Palau, more pre-Compact migrants were in the CNMI than post-Compact migrants, possibly indicating a decline in the amount of Palauan immigration through time or a shift in preferred migrant destinations. Along with this decline, the reasons given for migration also changed. The largest groups of pre-Compact Palauans migrated for employment (39 percent), as a spouse or dependent of an employed person (26 percent) or for a visit or vacation. Post-Compact Palauans were more likely to migrate for school (29 percent), a visit or vacation (25 percent) or as a spouse or dependent of an employed person (24 percent). In other words, the proportion emigrating for employment and as a dependent declined, but the proportion emigrating for school or a visit or vacation increased. In general, all Palauan migrants followed this pattern, except among the females, the proportion emigrating as a spouse or dependent of an employed person declined.

Immigration from FSM increased from the pre- to the post-Compact periods. In 1998, FSM migrants represented the largest Freely Associated States immigrant group in the CNMI. As the FSM migrant community increased through time, their reasons for migrating to the CNMI shifted. The largest groups of pre-Compact migrants left for employment (42 percent), school (22 percent) or as a spouse or dependent of an employed person (11 percent). The largest groups of post-Compact migrants migrated for employment 39 percent, school (17 percent) or as a spouse or dependent of an employed person (30 percent). Compared to pre-Compact migrants, the percentage of post-Compact migrants moving for employment, school or for a visit or vacation declined, while the proportion emigrating as a spouse or dependent of an employed person increased. This pattern generally held for FSM migrants of both sexes. However, the proportion of post-Compact males emigrating for visits or a vacation (11 percent) was higher than the pre-Compact proportion (6 percent). Also, the difference between the pre- and post-Compact females in the proportion emigrating as a spouse or dependent of an employed person was greater than the difference between the pre- and post-Compact males, indicating more dependent female migration. All of these changes show that migration from the FSM to CNMI may be shifting from employment migration to family reunification migration.

The Marshallese migrant community is the smallest Freely Associated States immigrant group in the CNMI. The largest groups of pre-Compact migrants moved for schooling (39 percent), as spouses or dependents of employed persons (33 percent) or for employment (28 percent). The largest groups of post-Compact migrants went as spouses or dependents of employed persons (37 percent), schooling (26 percent) or for visits or vacations (19 percent). Generally speaking, emigration for employment from the Marshall Islands declined, while emigration as a dependent, for schooling or for a visit or vacation increased.

5.4 Social Characteristics

Table 5.4 includes information about the social characteristics of both the pre- and post-Compact migrants and their children, including language spoken at home, school enrollment and educational attainment. About 19 percent of the post-Compact migrants aged 5 years and over spoke English at home compared to 16 percent of the pre-Compact migrants. Of the post-Compact migrants, the Marshallese (26 percent) were the most likely to speak English at home, followed by the Palauans (19 percent) and the FSM (18 percent) migrants. Approximately 72 percent of the post-Compact migration spoke a language other than English more frequently at home, compared to 63 percent of the pre-Compact migrants. Among the post-Compact migrants, the FSM migrants (75 percent) were the most likely to speak a language other than English at home, followed by the Palauans (55 percent) and the Marshallese (53 percent). The FSM and Marshallese pre-Compact migrants were more likely to speak English at home than the post-Compact migrants, while Palauan post-Compact migrants were more likely to speak English at home than the pre-Compact migrants.

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In 1998, 779 pre- and post-Compact migrants were three years of age and over enrolled in school. Of those, 57 percent were enrolled in public elementary school, 24 percent in public high school and 9 percent in college. Of the total enrolled, 612, or 79 percent, were post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants and their children. Of the post-Compact migrants enrolled in school, 84 percent were FSM migrants, 6 percent were Marshallese and 10 percent were Palauan. Most of those enrolled were attending either public elementary school (60 percent) or high school (23 percent). The largest groups (81 percent) of pre-Compact migrants enrolled in school were Palauan. Almost 70 pre- and post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants were attending college, either public or private.

Approximately 44 percent of the post- and 73 percent of the pre-Compact migrants aged 25 years and over were high school graduates, had some college or a two year degree, or a bachelor’s or graduate degree. The pre-Compact migrants had a lower proportion in each of these educational attainment categories than post-Compact migrants. However, the pre-Compact migrants had a higher proportion with some high school, grade 8 education or less, and no education than the post-Compact migrants. Among each of the Freely Associated States groups, pre-Compact migrants were more likely to have graduated high school, had some college or a two year degree, or a bachelor’s or graduate degree. Therefore, in general, pre-Compact migrants were better educated than their post-Compact counterparts. The differences between the pre- and post-migrant groups may be a result of the migration privileges associated with the Compact, which may have facilitated the emigration of a greater proportion of less-educated, and possibly less-skilled, Micronesians. Of all the Freely Associated States groups, the pre-Compact Palauans were the best-educated, with 80 percent being at least high school graduates.

Among both the pre- and post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants in 1998, a larger proportion of females than males had less than a high school graduate education. The only exception was the post-Compact Palauan females, who were better educated than their male counterparts. However, the differences between pre- and post-Compact migrants were greater for females than for males. For example, 51 percent of the pre- and 77 percent of the post-Compact male migrants were less than high school graduates, compared to 37 percent of the pre- and 69 percent of the post-Compact female migrants, indicating a larger proportional increase of less educated post-Compact females. Generally speaking, pre-Compact males and females were better educated than their post-Compact counterparts.

Migration Trends. Table 5.4a shows various social characteristics for the 3 censuses. The percent speaking English at home increased from 3 percent in 1990 to 16 percent in 1995 and 19 percent in 1998. The percentages for the FSM migrants were about the same, while the percentage of Marshallese speaking English increased from 5 percent in 1990 to 26 percent in 1998.

Of the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants who spoke a language other than English in 1990, about 73 percent spoke that language more than English, about the same percentage as in 1998. Of those 3 years and over, the number of post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants (and children) enrolled in school increased from 704 in 1990 to 1,107 in 1995 but only 612 reported in 1998. The number in public elementary schools was about the same in 1990 as 1998 according to the censuses, and also in high schools. As before, most of those enrolled in school were from the FSM.

Of the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants 25 years and over, about 31 percent were high school graduates in 1990, 34 percent in 1995, but this increased to 44 percent in 1998. The percentage increase for college graduates was much smaller, from 3.8 percent in 1990 to 4.1 percent in 1995, but then showed a decrease to 2 percent in 1998. Perhaps educated Micronesian Migrants were taking jobs elsewhere as movements to Guam, Hawaii, and the mainland US became easier. The percentage of female high school graduates decreased from 32 percent to 26 percent in the first 5 years of the decade, but then showed a large increase, to 37 percent in 1998. The percentages for female college graduates continued to decrease during the decade.

5.5 Economic Characteristics

Table 5.5 shows the CNMI labor force characteristics of the Micronesian migrants and their children aged 16 years and over. Of the 2,021 Freely Associated States migrants aged 16 years and over, 936, or 46 percent, were post-Compact migrants. The CNMI is the only one of the three receiving area where pre-Compact migrants out-number post-Compact migrants in the labor force. Approximately 61 percent of the post-Compact migrants age 16 years and over were in the labor force, which was lower than the 70 percent of all pre-Compact migrants in the labor force. In each of the Freely Associated States groups, labor force participation by post-Compact migrants was lower than the pre-Compact rate. Among the post-Compact migrants, 61 percent of the FSM, 60 percent of the Palauan and 53 percent of the Marshallese migrants 16 years and over were in the labor force. About 70 percent of the FSM and Palauan and 65 percent of the Marshallese pre-Compact migrants were in the labor force. For most of the Freely Associated States groups, the lower proportion of post-Compact labor force participation can also be seen in the total male and female migrants, but the differences were greater between female pre- and post-Compact migrants. About 75 percent of post-Compact males were in the labor force compared to 48 percent of post-Compact females. Approximately 92 percent of the Marshallese post-Compact males were in the labor force, compared to 76 percent of the FSM and 63 percent of the Palauans. Not surprisingly, a lower percentage of females than males were in the labor force, a pattern that held for all Freely Associated States pre- and post-Compact migrant groups. Approximately 57 percent of the Palauan post-Compact females were in the labor force, followed by 48 percent of the FSM and 28 percent of the Marshallese migrants.

Approximately 9 percent of all Freely Associated States migrants and their children aged 16 years and over were unemployed. Unemployment was highest among the Marshallese (25 percent), followed by the FSM (8 percent) and Palauan (also 8 percent) groups. Palauan Pre-Compact migrants had a higher unemployment rate than Palauan post-Compact migrants. This pattern held for the FSM and Palauan groups, but for the Marshallese, post-Compact migrants had a higher unemployment rate than pre-Compact migrants, which is probably the result of the small sample size. Total unemployment for males was about the same as the female rate. The proportion of unemployed female post-Compact migrants was 8.3 percent, lower than the 8.7 percent rate for pre-Compact females. Among the post-Compact female migrants, the Marshallese women had the highest proportion of unemployed (20 percent), followed by the Marshallese (12 percent) and the FSM migrants (7 percent). The proportion of unemployed post-Compact migrant males was 8.9 percent, lower than the pre-Compact rate of 9.4 percent.

Generally speaking, pre-Compact migrants worked more than post-Compact migrants. About 70 percent of the pre-Compact migrants worked during 1997, with 61 percent working the whole year, 67 percent working full-time and 60 percent working the whole year full-time. However, only 56 percent of the pre-Compact migrants worked in 1997, with 37 percent working the whole year, 54 percent working full-time and 37 percent working the whole year full-time. Of the Freely Associated States groups, the pre-Compact Palauan migrants were the most likely to have worked during 1997 (71 percent), worked the whole year (63 percent), worked full-time (69 percent), and the whole year full-time (62 percent); the post-Compact Marshallese were the least likely. Approximately 67 percent of all male and 47 percent of female migrants worked during 1997.

Occupational and Industrial Concentration Among Freely Associated States Migrants

Table 5.5a shows the major occupation groups for employed pre- and post-Compact migrants aged 16 years and older. About 1/3rd (34 percent) of the Freely Associated States migrants and their children were employed in precision production and crafts occupations. The second most common occupation category was agriculture, forestry and fishing (28 percent). This occupational concentration occurred in both the pre- and post-Compact groups. However, among the pre-Compact group, about 1 in 3 (34 percent) were in agriculture, fishing and forestry, while about 2 in 5 (40 percent) of the post-Compact migrants were in precision production and craft occupations. Approximately 30 percent of the post- and 17 percent of the pre-Compact migrants were operators, fabricators and laborers.

The largest groups of all of the pre- and post-Compact Freely Associated States groups were in either precision production and craft occupations or agriculture, forestry and fishing. The largest groups of pre-Compact FSM (33 percent) and post-Compact FSM (40 percent) and Palauan (36 percent) migrants worked in precision production and craft occupations, while the largest groups of pre-Compact Palauan (36 percent) and Marshallese (46 percent) and post-Compact Marshallese (50 percent) worked in agriculture, forestry and fishing occupations. The third most common occupational category was operators, fabricators and laborers. This was the second most common category for post-Compact FSM and Palauan and pre-Compact Marshallese migrants.

The largest groups of male pre- and post-Compact migrants worked as operators, fabricators and laborers (33 percent), followed by precision production and craft occupations (30 percent). Post-Compact Palauan migrants were the most likely (46 percent) to work in precision production and craft occupations, while the post-Compact FSM migrants were the most likely (44 percent) to have precision production and craft occupations. Approximately 22 percent of male migrants were in agricultural, forestry and fishing occupations. The largest groups of female pre- and post-Compact migrants worked in precision production and craft occupations (38 percent) followed by agricultural, forestry and fishing occupations (34 percent). Post-Compact Marshallese (75 percent) and FSM (57 percent) migrants were the most likely to work in precision production and craft occupations, while the pre-Compact Marshallese (50 percent) and Palauan 45 percent migrants were the most likely to work in agriculture, fishing and forestry occupations. Approximately 11 percent of pre-Compact females worked in clerical and sales occupations, but the largest groups of these were Palauan. Generally speaking, the Micronesian migrants in the CNMI were not as occupationally concentrated as in either Guam or Hawaii.

This lack of occupational concentration is reflected in what the migrants did in each category. For example, for both males and females in the precision production and craft category, 19 percent worked as operators and tenders in textile, apparel and furniture shops, 16 percent worked in hand working occupations, 15 percent in cleaning and building service occupations (including personal service), 11 percent in food and beverage preparation and service occupations, and 9 percent as guards. Definite differences between male and female occupational participation patterns existed. The largest groups of females worked in hand working occupations (30 percent) and as machine operators and tenders for textile, apparel and furniture shops. Less than 10 percent of the males worked in these occupations combined. No clear largest occupation emerges for the migrant males. However, 16 percent worked as guards, 13 percent in food and beverage preparation and services occupations, and 12 percent worked in cleaning and building service occupations. Only 2 percent, 8 percent and 18 percent of the women worked in these respective occupations.

[WALLY: The following paragraph is wrong, needs to be looked up:]

The lack of occupational concentration can also be seen in the agricultural, forestry and fishing category. For the total number of migrants in this category, 28 percent were in general sales occupations, 14 percent in material handling and distribution, 13 percent in insurance, securities, real estate and business service sales occupations, 10 percent worked as information 7 percent as mail and message distribution clerks. However, as with the precision production and craft category, the proportion of males and females in these occupations varied. For males, approximately 28 percent worked in material handling and distribution, 15 percent as mail and message distribution clerks and 12 percent as information clerks. For females, 43 percent worked in general sales occupations, 17 percent in insurance, securities, real estate and business service sales occupations, and 8 percent as information clerks.

The operators, fabricators and laborer occupation category had more males. Approximately 80 percent of all migrants in this occupational category were male. Of these, 31 percent were general freight, stock and material movers, 20 percent were motor vehicle operators and 16 percent were hand packers and packagers. The largest groups of women (33 percent) in this occupational category worked as helpers to machine operators and tenders.

Table 5.5b shows the major industry groups by Freely Associated States state for employed pre- and post-Compact migrants aged 16 years and older. The largest groups of the Freely Associated States migrants and their children were employed in manufacturing (25 percent), services (21 percent) or retail trade (21 percent). This pattern generally persisted among both the pre- and post-Compact male and female migrants. However, 25 percent of all the pre- and post-Compact males were in the transportation and communication industry, while only 5 percent of the females were.

Among the Freely Associated States groups, most of the FSM migrants worked in manufacturing (39 percent), while most of the Marshallese (35 percent) worked in retail trade, and the largest groups of Palauan migrants worked in services. In all groups, a greater proportion of post-Compact than pre-Compact migrants worked in manufacturing, while a greater proportion of pre-Compact than post-Compact migrants worked in services. For the total migrant population, more pre-Compact than post-Compact migrants worked in transportation and communication and retail trade. However, this pattern did not hold for all Freely Associated States groups.

In every Freely Associated States group, more females than males worked in manufacturing. Approximately 55 percent of the post- and 16 percent of the pre-Compact females worked in manufacturing, compared to 34 percent and 10 percent of the pre- and post-Compact males. The opposite was true for the transportation and communication industry. More pre-Compact (29 percent) and post-Compact (19 percent) worked in this industry than pre-Compact (8 percent) or post-Compact (1 percent) women. More pre-Compact females (54 percent) than males (40 percent) worked in the retail trade and services industry, while more post-Compact males (36 percent) than females (34 percent) do.

Within the manufacturing industry, 96 percent of all migrants, including 98 percent of the females and 69 percent of the male migrants, worked in apparel and other fabric products production. In the services industry, 58 percent of all migrants work in hotels, rooming houses and other lodging places, including 63 percent of the male and 52 percent of the female migrants. Another 17 percent of the migrants work in education services, including 24 percent of the female migrants and 10 percent of the male migrants.

Greater variation existed in the proportion of migrants in the various sectors of the retail industry. Approximately 30 percent of all migrants worked in general merchandise stores, 24 percent in miscellaneous retail and 19 percent in eating and drinking establishments. The pattern of male and female participation in this industry differs slightly. Among female migrants, 35 percent worked in miscellaneous retail, 28 percent in general merchandise stores and 19 percent in eating and drinking establishments. Among male migrants, 32 percent worked in general merchandise stores, 19 percent in eating and drinking establishments, and 14 percent in miscellaneous retail.

Within the transportation and communication industry, 86 percent of the laborers were male. Of those, 34 percent worked in the air transportation sector, while 24 percent worked in general transportation services. The largest groups of women in this sector (36 percent) worked in the air transportation sector.

Migration Trends. Table 5.5c shows the change in labor force characteristics for the post-Compact migrant adults between 1990 and 1998. The number of post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants 16 years and over was about the same in 1990 and 1998. The percentage in the labor force increased from 58 percent in 1990 to about 61 percent in 1998, while the unemployment rate decreased, from 6 percent in 1990 to 5 percent in 1998. The percentage for females showed similar figures, with labor force participation at about half of adult females, and the unemployment rate at about 4 percent.

The table also shows information about work in the year before the census. The percentage of persons who worked in the year before the census increased slightly between the 1990 and 1998 censuses, increasing from about 54 percent to 56 percent of the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrant adults. The percentage of persons who worked the whole year (50 to 52 weeks), however, increased considerably between 1989 and 1997, from 30 percent in 1989 to 37 percent in 1997. The percentage of full-time workers, those who worked 35 hours or more, increased from 52 percent to 54 percent, while the percentage of year-round full-time workers increased from 29 percent in 1989 to 36 percent in 1997.

As with Guam, the employment picture changed over the decade. For the CNMI, the percentage of post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants working as operators, fabricators, and laborers greatly decreased during the 5 year period, while the percentage in technical, sales, and administrative support occupations and managers and professionals increased quite a bit (Table 5.5d). Still, about 1 in every 3 workers were working in occupations indicating the garment industry, down from about half in 1990. The percentage of persons doing precision production and crafts also decreased.

The data on industry also show changes, but we are not showing manufacturing here, specifically to keep the data comparable to Guam and Hawaii. About 13 percent of the post-Compact Freely Associated States workers in 1990 were in retail trade, a figure which increased to 17 percent in 1995 and 19 percent in 1998. During the same time period, the percentage in service industries increased only slightly, from 20 percent in 1990 to 22 percent in 1995, but decreased to 16 percent in 1998. Of these, the Hotel industry increased from about 6 percent of the total in 1990 to 10 percent in 1995.

The post-Compact Freely Associated States migrant workers were much more likely than Guam’s workers to be in the public sector. While substantial, only 79 percent of the Freely Associated States migrant workers in the CNMI in 1995 were in the private sector, down from 84 percent in 1990. The values for FSM were identical, but the percentage for the Marshallese workers decreased from 100 percent private sector in 1990 to 82 percent in 1995, and 79 percent of the Palau migrant workers were in the private sector.

5.6 Income and Poverty

Table 5.6 shows the income characteristics of Micronesian migrants and their children, including household and family income, per capita income and poverty status. CNMI had 237 post-Compact households and 506 pre-Compact households in the 1998 Census. The median income for the post-Compact households was $13,400, about $8,000 less than the median of $21,000 for the pre-Compact households. The mean household income levels were greater in each case. The means and medians were heavily influenced by the largest groups – the pre-Compact Palauans were 372 of the 506 pre-Compact households (about 3/4^th of the units) and the post-Compact FSM migrant households were 212 of the 237 units (89 percent) of their units.

Family income followed the pattern of household income – with post-Compact family median income of $14,500 being about $7,500 less than the pre-Compact family median income. Mean family incomes were close to the mean household incomes.

The per capita incomes were relatively high – post-Compact per capita income was about $5,300, slightly more than half the $9,900 per capita income of the pre-Compact migrants. The biggest differences in per capita income occurred among the few Marshallese in the CNMI , and the smallest differences were for the post- and pre-Compact Palauans, who had essentially the same per capita income, at just under $10,000.

As noted in the Guam chapter, definitions of poverty appear in Appendix B. About 1,750 post-Compact and 1,200 pre-Compact migrants were in the poverty universe. Of these, about 58 percent of the post-Compact migrants and 42 percent of the pre-Compact migrants were living below the US-defined poverty line.

Migration Trends. Table 5.6 shows data on income and poverty for the CNMI in 1989, 1994 and 1997. The number of post-Compact households with income in 1990 was 543, which increased to 885 in 1995, but decreased to 237 in 1998 because of the post- and pre-Compact migrants were defined. Of these, the median household income decreased very slightly, from $18,700 to $18,500, if inflation is ignored, between 1990 and 1995, but decreased to $13,388 in 1998. As noted above, pre-Compact migrants had much higher incomes, so probably some persons who were identified previously as post-Compact, became pre-Compact in 1998 through self-identification. The mean household income also decreased throughout the period, even when inflation is not considered. The median and mean household incomes for the FSM migrants were about the same as for all Freely Associated States households.

The per capita income for post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants was lower than for Guam’s migrants. The per capita income of these migrants to the CNMI increased from $1,500 in 1989 to $2,700 in 1994 and $5,339, again without regard to inflation. Hence, per capita income more than tripled during the 8 year period.

The number in the poverty universe increased from about 3,100 in 1990 to 4,500 in 1995 but decreased to 1,750 in 1998, again because of definitions of post- and pre-Compact migrants. The percent in poverty decreased slightly between 1989 and 1994, from 36 to 35 percent, but increased sharply to 58 percent in 1998.

CHAPTER 6

NUMBERS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF MICRONESIAN MIGRANTS IN HAWAII

6.1 Demography

The data for the State of Hawaii differ from those of Guam and the CNMI because census information is available from only one source – the 1997 Census of Micronesian Migrants to Hawaii. The 1990 U.S. Census collected information on Micronesians in Hawaii using items on Race and Ancestry; however, the U.S. Census data present several problems for this analysis. For example, the 1990 Census was collected for most of the population by self-enumeration; that is, the questionnaire arrived in the mail, was filled by the respondent and then was returned by mail. Most Micronesian respondents received a questionnaire asking them to choose from one of 17 selected racial categories and requesting a write-in entry. Most selected the closest category, “Other Asian and Pacific Islander”, but many then reported a general write-in category, such as “Pacific Islander” or “Micronesian”, rather than giving a specific state or country of origin, such as Chuukese or Marshallese. Thus, the 1990 Census data permit neither changes in the numbers of Micronesians nor assessments about their characteristics. For the analytical purposes of this report, only the 1997 Census of Micronesian Migrants to Hawaii will be used.

Table 6.1 shows some demographic characteristics of the Micronesian migrants and their children. The 1997 Census reported a total of 6,119 Micronesian migrants in Hawaii, including 610 pre-Compact migrants and 5,509 post-Compact migrants and children. Of the 5,509 post-Compact migrants, 60 percent were from the Federated States of Micronesia, 38 percent were from the Marshall Islands, and the remaining 2 percent were from Palau. Of the total post-Compact migrant category, 694, or approximately 11 percent, were the children of Freely Associated States-born persons.

Because males are more likely to migrate internationally than females, it is not unusual for a migrant community to be male oriented, especially in the initial stages of its establishment. This male dominance is especially likely if the primary motive for emigration is economic opportunity; because females tend to migrate either as dependents of male migrants or, if male migration precedes female migration, family-reunification flows subsequently. The main reason for Micronesian migration to Hawaii was either for employment or education (which can be seen as a precursor to employment). Thus, a pattern of male surpluses can be seen in the Micronesian community of Hawaii.

The sex ratio for the pre-Compact migrants was 101, with the number of males slightly exceeding the number of females in the population. Among the post-Compact migrants the ratio was 109, showing even more males than females. However, this pattern of high sex ratios did not hold for all Freely Associated States groups. For the Marshallese, the pre-Compact sex ratio was 56, showing about 2 females for each male, while the post-Compact sex ratio was 92, indicating a more balanced but still slightly female. The pre-Compact sex ratio of Palau was 82, which also demonstrated a surplus of females to males, but the post-Compact sex ratio increased to 115, indicating a surplus of males. The pre-Compact sex ratio of FSM was 197, indicating a large surplus of males. In the post-Compact FSM community, the sex ratio is more balanced at 121, but remains male-oriented and higher than the total average. The dominance of female migrants in both the pre- and post-Compact Marshallese groups is probably due to the dominance of non-economic reasons for migrating (e.g. as a spouse or dependent of a migrant, visits/vacations and medical reasons) in which females were more likely to participate.

The median age of the post-Compact migrants and their children was 21.8 years, while the median age of the pre-Compact migrants was 33.3 years, more than 11 years older than the post-Compact migrants. This age difference has two aspects. First, the pre-Compact migrants have been residents of Hawaii for a longer period than the post-Compact migrants. Second, the post-Compact migrants include all children of Freely Associated States-born persons who were not born in the Freely Associated States, which would lower the median age. Of the post-Compact migrants, the FSM migrants were the oldest (22.9 years), followed by the Palauans (21.1 years) and the Marshallese (20.0 years). Among the pre-Compact migrants, the Palauans were the oldest (38.8 years), followed by the FSM migrants (33.1 years) and the Marshallese (29.6 years).

Of the 5,509 post-Compact migrants to Hawaii, almost 30 percent were less than 15 years old while approximately half were between 15 and 29 years old, indicating that many migrants were coming as young families. The post-Compact Marshallese migrants had the largest percentage of children, with 35 percent less than 15 years old. Approximately 1 in every 4 FSM migrants were less than 15 years old, while this ratio drops to 1 in every 16 for Palauan post-Compact migrants. This low ratio may be the result of the relatively shorter period of post-Compact migration time Palauans had (3 years) compared to Marshallese and FSM migrants (10 years), which could have limited Palauan household formation in Hawaii. In fact, 75 percent of Palauan post-Compact migrants were 15 to 29 years old, compared to 45 percent of the Marshallese and 49 percent of the FSM post-Compact migrants. Less than 16 percent of all post-Compact migrants were 30 to 44 years, while less than 8 percent were 45 years or older.

With 73 percent of the total population below the age of 30, clearly, the Micronesian migrant community in Hawaii is a young population. The high proportion of never married pre- and post-Compact migrants reflects this young age structure. Approximately 42 percent of the adult pre- and 58 percent of the post-Compact males were never married, compared to 32 percent of the adult pre- and 50 percent of the post-Compact.

Household size in Hawaii was smaller than in Guam or in the CNMI. The average household size of the 1,374 post-Compact Freely Associated States households was 4.0 persons – 3.6 for the FSM households, 4.8 for the Marshall Islands, and 3.5 for the Palau households. The average family size was 6.0 persons -- 5.8 for the FSM households, 6.2 for the Marshall Islands, and 7.1 for the Palau households. As expected, because one-person households were not included in the calculation of average family size, average family size was larger than average household size.

6.2 Citizenship and Residency Status

Table 6.2 shows the citizenship status and place of residence one and five years ago of the Micronesian migrants and their children in Hawaii. Approximately 14 percent of the pre- and 11 percent of the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants to Hawaii were U.S. citizens. Between 12 percent and 14 percent of all of the post-Compact migrants were citizens. In general, the proportion of post-Compact migrants was higher than the proportion of pre-Compact migrants, because the post-Compact category included all children of the Freely Associated States migrants born in the United States. However, pre-Compact Palauan migrants were the most likely (22 percent) of all groups to be U.S. citizens.

Of the non-citizens, about 48 percent of the post-Compact migrants were permanent residents compared to 55 percent of the pre-Compact migrants. In each of the Freely Associated States groups, a higher proportion of pre-Compact migrants than post-Compact migrants were permanent residents, which reflects the longer settlement period experienced by the pre-Compact migrants. About 82 percent of the Marshallese, 45 percent of the Palauan and 43 percent of the FSM pre-Compact migrants were permanent residents. Among the pre-Compact migrants, 65 percent of the Marshallese, 39 percent of the FSM and 24 percent of the Palauan migrants were permanent residents.

Table 6.2 also shows information on the place of residence one and five years prior to the 1997 Census. Approximately 22 percent of the post-Compact and 50 percent of the pre-Compact migrants lived in the same residence in 1997 as they did in 1992. Not surprisingly, a larger proportion of post-Compact migrants (57 percent) lived outside Hawaii five years before than pre-Compact migrants (11 percent). Approximately 65 percent of the post-Compact migrants lived in the same residence in 1996 as they did in 1997, with only about 26 percent living outside of Hawaii in 1996. The largest groups of pre-Compact migrants (88 percent) lived in the same house one year prior as they did in 1997.

Post-Compact Palauan migrants were the most likely of all the Freely Associated States groups to have lived outside of Hawaii either one (28 percent) or five (77 percent) years earlier, which probably reflects the later Compact implementation date. The pre-Compact Marshallese were the most likely to have lived in the same house either one (90 percent) or five (55 percent) years earlier.

6.3 Reasons for Migrating

Table 6.3 shows the reasons for migrating by sex for both the pre- and post-Compact migrants. Even though the amount of migration from Palau, FSM and RMI has increased dramatically since the implementation of the Compact, the reasons given for emigration by both pre- and post-Compact migrants have remained basically unchanged.

The largest groups of pre-Compact migrants left for schooling (55 percent), employment (13 percent) or as a spouse or dependent (11 percent and 13 percent, respectively). The three main reasons post-Compact migrants moved were schooling (50 percent), employment (16 percent) or as a spouse or dependent of an employed person (4 percent and 11 percent, respectively). Not surprisingly, between the pre- and post-Compact periods, the proportion emigrating for reasons of employment increased while the proportion emigrating for education declined. Spousal and dependent emigration also declined; however, spousal emigration experienced the greater decline, probably reflecting an increase in the percent of never married immigrants among post-Compact immigrants. The percent of post-Compact immigrants entering Hawaii for visits/vacations and medical reasons also increased. For visits/vacations, the percent increased from 5 percent to 11 percent; for medical reasons, the percent increased from 3 percent to 7 percent. These increases were probably the result of the immigration privileges associated with the Compact, which facilitates shorter-term, circular-type migration.

This pattern of change generally held for each of the migrant groups. For Palau, more pre-Compact migrants were in Hawaii than post-Compact migrants, possibly indicating a decline in the amount of Palauan immigration through time or a shift in preferred migrant destinations. Along with this decline, the reasons given for migration also changed. The percent of Palauans immigrating for reasons of employment or as either a spouse or a dependent of an employed person declined, but the percent immigrating for education increased. However, this pattern did not hold for both male and female immigrants. The proportion of male Palauans emigrating for employment and education increased, while the proportion of spousal and dependant migration declined. For females, the proportion emigrating for employment or as a spouse or a dependent declined, while the proportion emigrating for education increased, from 49 percent to 83 percent. In general, the main reason Palauans migrated to Hawaii was education, a pattern that intensified through time, especially for females.

Immigration from FSM increased dramatically between the pre- and post-Compact periods. In 1997, FSM migrants represented the largest Freely Associated States immigrant group in Hawaii. As the FSM migrant community increased through time, their reasons for migrating to Hawaii shifted. Compared to pre-Compact migrants, the percentage of post-Compact migrants emigrating for employment increased. The proportion of emigration for visits/vacations and for medical reasons also increased. However, migration for education and as a spouse or dependent of an employed person declined. While this pattern generally held for both men and women, some differences occurred. For example, while the proportion of males emigrating for education declined from 66 percent to 54 percent, the proportion of female migrants remained at 52 percent to 53 percent. Also, the proportion of males migrating as a spouse of an employed person remained unchanged at less than 1 percent while the proportion migrating as dependents declined. For females, the proportion migrating as a spouse declined from 22 percent to 5 percent, probably reflecting an increase in the number of never-married women emigrating from FSM for employment and education, while the proportion migrating as dependents remained unchanged at 10 percent to 11 percent. In general, the largest groups of emigrants from FSM moved to Hawaii for education. However, with the implementation of the Compact, the emphasis on migration for employment appears to have increased through time.

Immigration from RMI to Hawaii also increased dramatically between the pre- and post-Compact periods. Like the Palauan and FSM migrant communities, the proportion of RMI migrants coming to Hawaii for education declined while those coming for employment increased, but only slightly. Both dependent and especially spousal emigration declined, probably reflecting an increase in never-married migrants, while the proportion of migration for visits/vacations and for medical reasons increased, probably reflecting the liberalization of migration privileges in the post-Compact period. However, as with the other Freely Associated States states, males and females differed in their reasons for migrating in the pre- and post-Compact period. For example, the proportion of males emigrating for education declined from 61 percent to 44 percent, while the proportion of women increased from 37 percent to 42 percent. While the proportion of both males and females emigrating as a spouse or dependent of an employed person declined, the decline was more dramatic among women. For example, the proportion of females spousal migrants declined from 24 percent to 10 percent. In general, the main reason why RMI migrants came to Hawaii was education, but between the pre- and post-Compact periods, proportionately more migrants were entering Hawaii as visitors or vacationers and for medical reasons. The proportion of the RMI migrants entering Hawaii for employment remained stable.

6.4 Social Characteristics

Table 6.4 includes information about the social characteristics of both the pre- and post-Compact migrants and their children, including language spoken at home, school enrollment and educational attainment. About 22 percent of the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants aged 5 years and over spoke English at home compared to 36 percent of the pre-Compact migrants. Of the post-Compact migrants, Palauans (30 percent) were the most likely to speak English at home, followed by migrants from FSM (25 percent) and the Marshalls (18 percent). Approximately 60 percent of the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants spoke a language other than English more frequently at home, compared to only 40 percent of the pre-Compact migrants. Among post-Compact migrants, the Marshallese (74 percent) were the most likely to speak a language other than English at home, followed by FSM (50 percent) and Palauan (47 percent) migrants. Overall, the higher use of English at home by pre-Compact migrants probably reflects their longer assimilation and adaptation period in Hawaii.

In 1997, 1,817 pre- and post-Compact migrants were three years and over and enrolled in school. Of those, 39 percent were enrolled in public elementary school, 27 percent in public high school and 30 percent in college. Of the total enrolled, 1,714, or 94 percent, were post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants. Of the post-Compact migrants enrolled in school, 52 percent were FSM migrants, 44 percent were Marshallese and 4 percent were Palauan. Most of those enrolled were attending either public elementary school (40 percent) or public high school (26 percent). Almost 500 post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants were attending college, either public or private.

Approximately 55 percent of post- and 69 percent of the pre-Compact migrants aged 25 years and over were high school graduates, had some college or a two year degree, or a bachelor=s or graduate degree. Although the pre-Compact migrants had a lower proportion of migrants with only a high school degree (22 percent) when compared with post-Compact migrants (25 percent), pre-Compact migrants were more likely to have some college or a two-year degree (44 percent) than post-Compact migrants (28 percent). Compared to pre-Compact migrants, post-Compact migrants had a higher percentage of individuals with no education, grade 8 education or less and some high school. The differences between the pre- and post-migrant groups may be a result of the migration privileges associated with the Compact, which facilitated the emigration of a greater proportion of less-educated, and possibly less-skilled, Micronesians. Among each of the Freely Associated States groups, pre-Compact migrants were more likely to have graduated high school, had some college or a two year degree, or a bachelor=s or graduate degree. Post-Compact FSM and Marshallese migrants had a higher proportion of migrants with no education, grade 8 or less or some high school, while the post-Compact Palauan migrants had a lower proportion of migrants with grade 8 education or less and a higher proportion with some high school.

Among both the pre- and post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants, a larger proportion of females than males had less than a high school graduate education. However, the difference between pre- and post-Compact migrants was greater for males than females. For example, 22 percent of pre-Compact and 40 percent of the post-Compact male migrants had less than a high school degree education, compared to 42 percent of pre-Compact and 51 percent of the post-Compact female migrants, indicating a larger proportional increase of less educated post-Compact males. Among post-Compact migrants, a lower proportion of females had some college or a two- or four-year degree; however, pre-Compact females were much more likely than males to have been college graduates. Generally speaking, pre-Compact males and females were better educated than their post-Compact counterparts.

6.5 Economic Characteristics

Table 6.5 shows labor force characteristics of the Micronesian migrants and their children aged 16 years and over. Of the 4,356 Freely Associated States migrants aged 16 years and over, 3,776, or 87 percent, were post-Compact migrants. Fully 45 percent of the post-Compact migrants aged 16 years and over were in the labor force, which was lower than the 58 percent of pre-Compact migrants that were in the labor force. In each of the Freely Associated States groups, labor force participation by post-Compact migrants was lower than the pre-Compact rate. This was especially true for the Marshallese, whose rate of 30 percent for the post-Compact migrants was lower than the 46 percent for the pre-Compact migrants. About half of the post-Compact FSM and Palauan migrants were in the labor force. The lower proportion of post-Compact labor force participation can also be seen in the total male and female migrants, but the difference is greater between the male pre- and post-Compact migrants. About 57 percent of post-Compact males were in the labor force compared to 31 percent of post-Compact females. Approximately 46 percent of Palauan and Marshallese adult males were in the labor force, compared to 63 percent of adult males from FSM. Not surprisingly, a lower percentage of females than males were in the labor force, a pattern that generally held for all Freely Associated States pre- and post-Compact migrant groups. Slightly over half of the post-Compact Palauan adult females were in the labor force, but only 39 percent of FSM and 16 percent of Marshallese adult females were in the labor force.

Among the post-Compact migrants, 17 percent were unemployed. Unemployment among post-Compact migrants was highest among the Palauans (30 percent), followed by the Marshallese (28 percent) and the migrants from FSM (13 percent). The proportion of unemployed was higher among the post-Compact migrants than among the pre-Compact group, a pattern that held for each of the Freely Associated States groups. The proportion of unemployed female post-Compact migrants (25 percent) was more than triple the proportion of unemployed female pre-Compact migrants (8 percent), possibly indicating unemployment affected Micronesian women more than men. Among the post-Compact female migrants, the Marshallese women had the highest proportion unemployed (37 percent), followed by Palauans (33 percent) and FSM (21 percent) women. The proportion of unemployed male post-Compact migrants was 13 percent, which is higher than 8 percent of unemployed male pre-Compact migrants. As with the women, among the post Compact-male migrants the Palauan men had the highest proportion of unemployed (27 percent), followed by 24 percent of the RMI and 9 percent of the FSM male migrants.

Generally speaking, pre-Compact migrants worked more than post-Compact migrants. About 58 percent of the pre-Compact migrants worked in 1996, with 38 percent working the whole year, 50 percent working full-time and 33 percent working full-time for the whole year. However, only 40 percent of the post-Compact migrants worked in 1996, with 20 percent working the whole year, 31 percent working full-time and 16 percent working full-time for the whole year. Of the Freely Associated States groups, the pre-Compact Palauan migrants were the most likely to have worked during the previous year (71 percent), but the FSM migrants were the most likely to have worked the whole year (49 percent), worked full-time (58 percent) and worked the whole year full-time(45 percent). The post-Compact Marshallese were the least likely to have worked in 1996, full-time and for the whole year. Approximately 53 percent of all male and 31 percent of all female migrants worked during 1996.

Occupational and Industrial Concentration Among Freely Associated States Migrants

Table 6.5a shows the major occupation groups for employed pre- and post-Compact migrants aged 16 years and older. The largest groups (70 percent) of the Freely Associated States migrants and their children were employed in one of two occupation categories: either agricultural, fishing and forestry (26 percent) or precision production and crafts (50 percent). This occupational concentration can be seen among both pre- and post-Compact migrants. However, the proportion of post-Compact migrants reporting an agricultural, forestry and fishing occupation was lower than the pre-Compact migrants (25 percent v. 28 percent), while the proportion reporting a precision production/craft occupation was higher (52 percent v. 45 percent).

This pattern of occupation concentration can also be seen in each of the Freely Associated States groups. About 77 percent of the FSM migrants, 76 percent of the Palauans and 72 percent of the Marshallese reported occupations in either agricultural, fishing and forestry or precision production and crafts. Within these two categories, the largest groups (between 43 percent and 51 percent) reported an occupation in the precision production and craft category. This pattern generally held for each Freely Associated States pre- and post-Compact migrant groups.

However, male and female migrant groups differed in their patterns of occupational concentration. The largest groups of Freely Associated States migrant males (60 percent) were in a precision production and craft occupation, while the largest groups of females (53 percent) were in an agricultural, forestry or fishing occupation. This pattern generally held for both sexes in the total, pre- and post-Compact groups. However, among the RMI migrants, the largest groups of the total Marshallese (51 percent) and post-Compact (39 percent) Marshallese females reported a precision production and craft occupation rather than an agricultural, forestry and fishing occupation.

Within the agricultural, fishing and forestry occupation category, the largest groups of employed Micronesians in Hawaii worked in sales (66 percent), which represented about 21 percent of the total employed labor force. The remainder worked in general office occupations (e.g., secretaries, clerks, material handlers, etc.). Notable differences occurred between male and females. Only 47 percent of employed males in agricultural, fishing and forestry were in sales compared to 78 percent of employed females.

In the precision production and craft category, the largest groups of employed Micronesians worked in food and beverage preparation and service occupations (48 percent), which represented about 22 percent of the total employed labor force. Also, 16 percent of the employed Micronesians worked in farm and related agricultural occupations and 11 percent in cleaning and building service occupations (personal and professional). Again, notable differences occurred between men and women. The largest groups of Freely Associated States migrant males (48 percent) and females (50 percent) worked in food and beverage preparation and service occupations. However, 18 percent of the males reported a farm and related agricultural occupation compared to only 6 percent of the females. A larger proportion of male migrants (11 percent) worked in miscellaneous mechanic and repair occupations than female migrants (4 percent). Also, 7 percent the males reported a cleaning and building service occupation compared to 31 percent of the women.

Table 6.5b shows the major industry groups by Freely Associated States state for employed pre- and post-Compact migrants aged 16 years and older. The largest groups (70 percent) of the Freely Associated States migrants and their children were employed either in the retail trade (46 percent) or services (24 percent) industries. This pattern generally persisted among both the pre- and post-Compact and male and female migrants. However, a larger proportion of male post-Compact (17 percent) than pre-Compact migrants (7 percent) were in agriculture.

Among the Freely Associated States groups, retail trade employment dominated, with 54 percent of Palauan, 47 percent of the FSM migrants and 34 percent of Marshallese working in this industry. A greater proportion of post-Compact than pre-Compact Palauan and FSM migrants worked in the retail industry. The reverse was true for the Marshallese, which was partially due to the higher proportion of RMI women working in services. Conversely, a greater proportion of pre-Compact than post-Compact Palauan and FSM migrants worked in the service industry; the pre- and post-Compact proportions for the Marshallese were about the same.

About the same proportion of Palauan pre- and post-Compact men and women worked in retail. However, more FSM women than men and fewer Marshallese women than men worked in this industry. More Marshallese and Palauan women than men worked in services. About the same number of post-Compact male and female FSM migrants worked in services, but the proportion of pre-Compact women was higher than pre-Compact men.

Within the retail trade industry, the largest groups (69 percent) worked in eating and drinking establishments (which represented about 31 percent of the total employed) and 23 percent worked in food and general merchandise stores. The pattern of industry participation of men and women was similar. Approximately 66 percent of women and 70 percent of men worked in eating and drinking establishments, while about 28 percent of women and 20 percent of men worked in food and general merchandise stores.

Within the service industry, 33 percent of the Freely Associated States migrant laborers worked within the business services sector, which represented 8 percent of the total Micronesian labor force. About 14 percent worked in education services, while another 14 percent worked in hotels, rooming houses and other lodging places. The industry participation of men and women differed. About 39 percent of the males within this industry worked in business services compared to 22 percent of women. However, 19 percent of women worked in education services, compared to only 11 percent of men. Also, 20 percent of the women worked in hotels, rooming houses and other lodging places, compared to 11 percent of the men. About 11 percent of the Freely Associated States men in this industry worked in automotive repair, services and parking.

6.6 Income and Poverty

Table 6.6 shows the income characteristics of Micronesian migrants and their children, including household and family income, per capita income and poverty status. The median income is the mid-point value that divides the income distribution in half, with half of the distribution above and half below the mid-point. The mean income is the average of all of the income values. The 1,378 post-Compact households had a median income of about $10,000, which was less than half of the median income of the 298 pre-Compact households, which was $22,000. Part of this difference can be attributed to the longer period of time that the pre-Compact migrants have had to become financially established. The mean household incomes of the pre-Compact ($16,000) and the post-Compact ($30,000) was higher, indicating that at least a few of the households were doing very well. The Palauan pre- and post-Compact migrants had the highest median and mean household incomes; the FSM pre- and post-Compact migrants had the lowest. Mean incomes were higher than median incomes for all Freely Associated States groups except pre-Compact Marshallese..

Generally speaking, the median and mean family incomes of the pre-Compact migrants were higher than those of the post-Compact migrants. For the pre-Compact migrants, the median household income was approximately $24,000 and the mean income was $30,000, which were higher than the median ($15,000) and mean ($21,000) post-Compact values. Among all the Freely Associated States groups, only the post-Compact Marshallese migrants had a higher mean ($22,000) than the pre-Compact group ($20,000).

Except for the Marshallese, the per capita income of pre-Compact migrants was much greater than the per capita incomes of post-Compact migrants. Per capita, again, is the amount obtained by dividing the sum of all of the income of a group by all of the members of that group. The per capita income of the post-Compact Freely Associated States migrants was about $4,000 in 1996, compared to almost $14,000 for the pre-Compact migrants. The difference for the FSM migrants was even greater, with the pre-Compact migrants averaging almost $18,000; for the Marshallese, the pre-Compact migrants only averaged about $7,000 per capita, still more than twice the amount of the post-Compact Marshallese migrants.

About 5,500 post-Compact and 600 pre-Compact migrants were in the poverty universe. Of these, 61 percent of the post-Compact migrants and 38 percent of the pre-Compact migrants were living below the poverty line. The FSM and Palau migrants were more likely to live above poverty than the Marshallese, but in the group least in poverty – the Palauan pre-Compact migrants, more than 1/4^th were in poverty.

CHAPTER 7

MICRONESIAN MIGRANT HOUSES IN GUAM

The censuses and the surveys in Guam, the CNMI and Hawaii also provided information on housing conditions. Housing variables give information in themselves for planning, but also serve as social indicators. By considering these items by themselves, and in combination with other variables, government agencies can assess changing housing conditions, energy consumption, water and sewer distribution and use, and so forth.

7.1 General Housing Characteristics

Table 7.1 shows general housing characteristics of the Micronesian migrants in Guam. A total of 1,335 Micronesian households were enumerated by the 1997 Census of Micronesian Migrants in Guam, 979 post-Compact and 356 pre-Compact households – 931 post- and 139 pre-Compact FSM migrant households, 26 post- and 216 pre-Compact Palauan households, and 22 post- and one pre-Compact Marshallese households. Because of the small sample size, the information provided for the Marshallese households will not be divided into pre- and post-Compact categories, but will be collapsed into a single “all migrants” category.

The persons per housing unit provides a measure of household crowding and additional housing need. The average size of the Micronesian households in Guam ranged from less than 4 to almost 7 persons for all groups. On average, the post-Compact Micronesian households contained 6.3 persons, higher than the pre-Compact average of 5.1. The pre-Compact FSM households were the largest, averaging almost seven persons per household, while the post-Compact Palauan households were the smallest, averaging less than four persons per household.

Approximately 67 percent of the pre-Compact and 52 percent of the post-Compact migrant households lived in houses. A larger proportion of the total, FSM and Palauan pre-Compact than post-Compact migrant households lived in houses, which partially reflects the longer settlement period experienced by the pre-Compact migrants. The largest groups of Palauan households were pre-Compact households, and almost 1 in every 4 Palauan pre-Compact households lived in a house. However, the overwhelming largest groups of the Marshallese migrants arrived in the post-Compact period, and over 2/3^rd of the Marshallese households lived in apartments.

Although most of Micronesian households lived in houses, the largest groups – approximately 89 percent of the pre-Compact and 61 percent of the post-Compact migrant households – rented their house or apartment rather than owned. Almost 96 percent of all Marshallese households rented compared to only 45 percent of the pre-Compact Palauan households. Median monthly rent was between $600 and $680 per month for all groups.

Pre-Compact migrant households were more likely than post-Compact households to own their own homes. At approximately 47 percent, the pre-Compact Palauan households were the most likely to own their own homes. Higher household incomes helps to explain why pre-Compact migrants were more likely than post-Compact migrants to own their own home. In general, pre-Compact migrant households had higher median incomes than post-Compact households. Pre-Compact median household incomes ranged between approximately $14,000 to over $18,000, while post-Compact median household incomes were approximately $24,000 to over $31,000. The pre-Compact Palauan households had the highest median income.

7.2 Structural Characteristics

Types of materials used for roofs, walls and foundations determine the structural composition of housing. The structural composition of the housing units can indicate the general level of housing quality. It can also indicate the overall socio-economic standing of the community that occupies the housing units. Table 7.2 shows the type of housing construction materials used for the walls, roofs and foundations of the Micronesian migrant housing units.

Walls. Over 75 percent of all Micronesian migrant housing units in Guam had walls constructed of either poured concrete or concrete blocks. Approximately 50 percent of Palauan pre-Compact housing units had poured concrete walls. For all groups except the pre-Compact Palauans, the largest groups of the housing units (between 40 percent and 70 percent) had walls constructed of concrete blocks. Less than 20 percent of all housing units had walls constructed of wood or other materials.

Roofs. Over 90 percent of all Micronesian migrant housing units had roofs constructed of either poured concrete or concrete blocks, with the largest groups (between 69 percent and 100 percent) living in housing units with poured concrete roofs. Less than 10 percent of the migrant housing units had roofs made of metal, wood or other materials.

Foundation. Over 80 percent of all Micronesian migrant housing units had concrete foundations. The proportion of housing units with wood foundations was between 0 percent to just over 16 percent for all groups, with the highest proportion occupied by post-Compact (16 percent) and pre-Compact (13 percent) FSM migrants. Less than 3 percent of the total housing units had foundations made of materials other than concrete or wood.

7.3 Plumbing and Water Characteristics

Data on the plumbing and water characteristics of households provide information on both housing quality and living conditions as well as the level of demand by consumers. Table 7.3 shows the plumbing and water characteristics of the Micronesian migrant housing units.

Source of Water and Water Supply. Over 97 percent of all Micronesian migrant households used public water systems. Very few households relied on cistern, tanks or drums only, public standpipes or some other source for their water. The largest groups of Micronesian housing units had an inside water supply. Over 70 percent of all post-Compact and 80 percent of all pre-Compact households had both inside hot and cold piped water, while 25 percent of the post-Compact and 18 percent of the pre-Compact households had access to inside cold piped water only. Approximately 3 percent of the post-Compact FSM households had access to outside cold piped water only, while 2 percent of the post-Compact and just over 1 percent of the pre-Compact households did not have piped water.

Plumbing Facilities. The largest groups of the Micronesian housing units had either a bathtub or shower and a flush toilet – with a sink, these three pieces constitute “complete plumbing”. Over 94 percent of the post-Compact and 97 percent of the pre-Compact households had either a bathtub or shower. Approximately 6 percent of the post-Compact FSM and 3 percent of the pre-Compact FSM and Palauan households were without a bathtub or shower. About 96 percent of the post-Compact and 97 percent of the pre-Compact households had a flush toilet. Approximately 2 percent of the post-Compact FSM and 3 percent of the pre-Compact FSM and Palauan households had an outhouse or privy. Over 86 percent of all post-Compact and 90 percent of all pre-Compact households used public sewage disposal, while approximately 9 percent of all households used a septic tank or cesspool.

7.4 Equipment and Facilities

Table 7.4 shows the kitchen facilities and household equipment for the Micronesian migrant housing units. Over 95 percent of post-Compact and 98 percent of pre-Compact households had inside kitchen cooking facilities. Approximately 5 percent of the post-Compact and 4 percent of the pre-Compact FSM households had outside cooking facilities. Very few households (less than 1 percent) had no cooking facilities.

Over 98 percent of all Micronesian households in Guam were connected to electricity, and over 89 percent of all households used electricity as their fuel for cooking. Over 5 percent of the post-Compact and 8 percent of the pre-Compact households used gas for cooking. Few households used kerosene, wood or other cooking fuels. About 1/3^rd of the post-Compact and 2/3^rd of the pre-Compact migrant households had a microwave oven. In general, pre-Compact households were more likely to have a microwave oven than post-Compact households. The largest groups of Micronesian households also had either a gas or electric refrigerator. Less than 7 percent of the post-Compact and 3 percent of the pre-Compact migrants had no refrigerators. Most of the migrant households without refrigerators were from the FSM. Over 95 percent of all households had a sink with piped water.

Telephones, radios and televisions are important for transmitting information, especially in times of emergency or potential catastrophe. Approximately 50 percent of post-Compact and 80 percent of pre-Compact migrant households had telephones. Post-Compact FSM households (48 percent) were the least likely to have had a telephone while the pre-Compact Palauan households (92 percent) were the most likely. About one out of every three pre-Compact and two out of every three post-Compact households owned a radio (either battery or electric). The pre- and post-Compact Palauan households were the most likely to own radios. More households owned televisions than radios. Approximately 77 percent of the post-Compact and 90 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households had televisions. Again, the pre- and post-Compact Palauan households were the most likely to own televisions.

An increase in the number of air conditioning units can increase the demand for energy by consumers. However, the largest groups of all Micronesian households (63 percent) were not air-conditioned. Approximately 69 percent of the post-Compact and 45 percent of the pre-Compact households were not air-conditioned. Of the air-conditioned households, 14 percent of the post-Compact and 16 percent of the pre-Compact households had central air, while 17 percent of the post-Compact and 39 percent of the pre-Compact households had one or more individual units. The pre- and post-Compact Palauan households were the most likely to have air conditioning, either central air or individual units. Almost one in every two Palauan pre-Compact households had one or more individual air conditioning units.

Owning an automobile is important for transportation, but also is something of a status symbol. Since Guam still is developing its urban mass transit system, an automobile becomes basic transportation. Automobiles, while increasing personal mobility, also often become a financial burden as well as contribute to various kinds of pollution in an already fragile island environment. Most Micronesian households in Guam had one or more cars. About 71 percent of the post-Compact and 87 percent of the pre-Compact households had cars. Pre-Compact Palauan households were the most likely (89 percent) of all the groups to have a car.

CHAPTER 8

MICRONESIAN MIGRANT HOUSES IN THE CNMI

8.1 General Housing Characteristics

Table 8.1 shows general housing characteristics of the Micronesian migrants in the CNMI. A total of 743 Micronesian households were enumerated by the 1998 Census of Micronesian Migrants in the CNMI, which included 237 post-Compact and 506 pre-Compact households – 212 post- and 129 pre-Compact FSM households, 19 post- and 372 pre-Compact Palauan households and six pre- and five post-Compact Marshallese households. As with the data for Guam, because of the small sample size, the information provided for the Marshallese households will not be divided into pre- and post-Compact categories, but will be collapsed into a single Aall migrants@ category.

The persons per housing unit can provide a measure of household crowding and additional housing needs. The average size of the Micronesian households for all groups was between 3 and 5 persons, but the average size of both the pre- and post-Compact households was between 4 and 5 persons. The post-Compact Palauan households were the smallest, averaging about 3 persons per household.

The largest groups of all Micronesian migrants lived in houses. Over 70 percent of the post-Compact and 80 percent of the pre-Compact households lived in houses. A larger proportion of the total, FSM and Palauan pre-Compact than post-Compact migrant households lived in houses. Pre-Compact FSM households were the most likely (82 percent) and the post-Compact Palauan households the least likely (60 percent) to live in houses.

Although most of the Micronesian households lived in houses, the largest groups rented their house or apartment rather than owned. Over 68 percent of the post-Compact and 53 percent of the pre-Compact migrants rented rather than owned. The proportion of households that rented differed among the migrant groups. Over 84 percent of the post-Compact Palauan households rented, but only 27 percent of the Marshallese households did. Median monthly rent was between $250 and $300 dollars. The Marshallese community paid the highest median rent ($425).

A larger proportion of pre-Compact (22 percent) than post-Compact (6 percent) migrant households owned their own home, a difference that may reflect the longer period of settlement experienced by the pre-Compact migrants. About one in four pre-Compact FSM households owned their own home, but only about 5 percent of the post-Compact Palauan households did. The difference in the level of home ownership between pre- and post-Compact migrants may also reflect the differences in their median incomes. In general, pre-Compact migrant households had a higher median income than post-Compact households. Pre-Compact median household incomes ranged from approximately $12,000 to just over $21,000, while post-Compact median household incomes ranged from $21,000 to just over $23,000.

Unlike Guam and Hawaii, about one in every four post-Compact and one in every five pre-Compact Micronesian migrant households in the CNMI occupied a residence rent-free. The post-Compact Palauan households were the least likely (11 percent) to live rent-free; the Marshallese households were the most likely (55 percent).

8.2 Structural Characteristics

The type of material used for roofs, walls and foundations determine the structural composition of housing. The structural composition of the housing units indicates the general level of housing quality. It can also show the overall socio-economic standing of the community that occupies the housing units. Table 8.2 shows the type of housing construction material used for the walls, roofs and foundations of the Micronesian migrant housing units in the CNMI.

Walls. Over 57 percent of all Micronesian migrant housing units in the CNMI had walls constructed of either poured concrete or concrete blocks. The most common material used for walls was concrete blocks. About 38 percent of all post-Compact and 40 percent of all pre-Compact migrant households had concrete block walls. Approximately 20 percent of the post- and 22 percent of the pre-Compact housing units had walls constructed of metal, while approximately 22 percent of the post- and 20 percent of the pre-Compact housing units had walls constructed of wood.

Roofs. Over 97 percent of all Micronesian migrant housing units had roofs constructed of either poured concrete or concrete blocks, with the largest groups of all groups (between 55 percent and 68 percent) living in housing units using concrete blocks. Less than 3 percent of the migrant housing units had roofs made of metal, wood or other materials.

Foundation. Over 75 percent of all Micronesian migrant housing units had concrete foundations. The proportion of housing units with wood foundations was between 9 percent and 21 percent for all groups, with the highest proportion occupied by post-Compact (21 percent) and pre-Compact (19 percent) FSM migrants. Also, 6 percent of the post- and 5 percent of the pre-Compact FSM migrant households reside in houses with foundations made of materials other than concrete or wood.

8.3 Plumbing and Water Characteristics

Data on the plumbing and water characteristics of households provide information on both housing quality and living conditions as well as the level of demand by consumers. Table 8.3 shows the plumbing and water characteristics of the Micronesian migrant housing units.

Source of Water and Water Supply. The largest groups of Micronesian migrant households used public water systems. Approximately 91 percent of the post-Compact and 86 percent of the pre-Compact used public water systems. Over 97 percent of all migrant households used either a public water system only or a public water system and a cistern. Less than 3 percent relied on cisterns, tanks or drums only, public standpipes or some other sources for their water. The largest groups of Micronesian housing units had an inside water supply. Over 34 percent of all post-Compact and 37 percent of all pre-Compact households had both inside hot and cold piped water, while 45 percent of the post-Compact and 49 percent of the pre-Compact households had access to inside cold piped water only. Approximately 20 percent of the post-Compact and 14 percent of the pre-Compact had access to outside cold piped water only, but less than 1 percent of the households of all groups did not have piped water.

Plumbing Facilities. The largest groups of the Micronesian housing units had either a bathtub or shower and a flush toilet. Over 92 percent of the post-Compact and 96 percent of the pre-Compact households had either a bathtub or shower. Over 9 percent of the post- and 7 percent of the pre-Compact FSM households and 3 percent of the pre-Compact Palauan households were without a bathtub or shower. Approximately 85 percent of the post- and 82 percent of the pre-Compact households had a flush toilet, while 13 percent of the post- and 16 percent of the pre-Compact households had an outhouse or privy. About 2 percent of all migrant households did not have a flush toilet or an outhouse/privy. Approximately 82 percent of the post- and 83 percent of the pre-Compact households used either the public sewer system or a septic tank or cesspool. About 46 percent of the post-Compact households used public sewer systems, while 47 percent of the pre-Compact households used a septic tank or cesspool.

8.4 Equipment and Facilities

Table 8.4 shows the kitchen facilities and household equipment for the Micronesian migrant housing units. Over 84 percent of the post- and 92 percent of the pre-Compact households had inside cooking facilities. Post-Compact households were more likely to have outside cooking facilities (15 percent) than pre-Compact migrants (8 percent). Over 27 percent of all Marshallese households had outside cooking facilities. Generally speaking, few migrant households were without cooking facilities. However, 2 percent of the pre-Compact FSM households did not have cooking facilities.

Approximately 95 percent of all migrant households in the CNMI were connected to electricity, but a largest proportion of households used gas as their fuel for cooking. Approximately 45 percent of the post- and 40 percent of the pre-Compact households used electricity for cooking, while 50 percent of the post- and 54 percent of the pre-Compact households used gas. Approximately 4 percent of the post- and 6 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households used kerosene. Very few households used wood or another source of fuel for cooking.

Approximately 20 percent of all migrant households owned a microwave oven, but pre-Compact households were more likely to own a microwave oven (25 percent) than post-Compact households (11 percent). Although more migrant households owned either a gas or electric refrigerator, pre-Compact households (84 percent) were more likely than post-Compact households (69 percent) to own a refrigerator. About 1/3rd of all post-Compact migrant households did not have a refrigerator. Over 80 percent of the post-Compact and 90 percent of the pre-Compact households had a sink with piped water.

Telephones, radios and televisions are important for transmitting information, especially in times of emergency or potential catastrophe. However, many migrant households did not have phones. Pre-Compact households were more likely to own a telephone (50 percent) than post-Compact households (22 percent.) Post-Compact FSM households were the least likely (22 percent) while the pre-Compact Palauan households were the most likely (52 percent). The largest groups of migrant households owned a radio and a television. Again, pre-Compact households were more likely than post-Compact households to own a radio and a television. Only 57 percent of the post-Compact households owned radios compared to 80 percent of the pre-Compact households, and 54 percent of the post-Compact households owned televisions compared to 83 percent of the pre-Compact households. The pre-Compact Palauan households were the most likely of all groups to have a telephone, television and a radio.

An increase in the number of air conditioning units can increase the demand for energy by consumers. However, the largest groups of all Micronesian households (63 percent) were not air-conditioned. Approximately 78 percent of all post- and 56 percent of pre-Compact households were not air-conditioned. The pre-Compact households were more likely to be air conditioned than the post-Compact households. Of the air conditioned households, 3 percent of the post and 5 percent of the pre-Compact households had central air, while 19 percent of the post- and 39 percent of the pre-Compact households had one or more air conditioning units. The pre-Compact Palauan and the Marshallese households were the most likely of all groups to have air conditioning.

CHAPTER 9

MICRONESIAN MIGRANT HOUSES IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

9.1 General Housing Characteristics

Table 9.1 shows general housing characteristics of the Micronesian migrants in Hawaii. A total of 1,676 Micronesian households were enumerated by the 1998 Census of Micronesian Migrants in Hawaii, 1,378 post- and 298 pre-Compact households – 910 post- and 128 pre-Compact FSM households, 36 post- and 99 pre-Compact Palauan households and 432 post- and 71 pre-Compact Marshallese households.

The persons per housing unit can provide a measure of household crowding and additional housing need. The average size of the Micronesian households in Hawaii was between just over two to almost five persons for all groups. On average, the post-Compact Micronesian households contained 3.8 persons, which was slightly larger than the pre-Compact household average of 3.7 persons. The post-Compact Marshallese households were the largest, averaging almost five persons per household, while the post-Compact Palauan households were the smallest, averaging just over two persons per household.

Unlike in Guam and the CNMI, the largest groups of Micronesians households did not live in houses. Approximately 30 percent of the pre-Compact and 40 percent of the post-Compact households lived in houses. Pre-Compact Marshallese households were the most likely (52 percent) to live in houses. Most of the Micronesian households lived in apartments. Approximately 59 percent of the post- and 57 percent of pre-Compact households lived in apartments. Approximately 64 percent of the pre-Compact Palauan and 60 percent of the post-Compact FSM migrant households live in apartments.

The largest groups of all Micronesian migrant households rented rather than owned their apartment or house. Approximately 80 percent of both the post- and pre-Compact households rented rather than owned. The pre-Compact Palauans (12 percent) and post-Compact Marshallese (12 percent) were the most likely to own rather than rent, followed by post-Compact Palauan households. Median monthly rent was between $600 and $760 per month for all groups. Approximately 14 percent of all post-Compact migrants occupied their residences rent-free. Post-Compact migrants of all groups were more likely to live rent-free than pre-Compact migrants. Approximately 25 percent of the Palauan, 17 percent of the Marshallese and 12 percent of the FSM post-Compact migrant households pay no rent.

Median household incomes were significantly higher for the pre-Compact households than the post-Compact households. WALLY: FINISH THIS PARAGRAPH WHEN THE CORRECT INCOME DATA IS CALCULATED....AND CHECK THE INCOME VALUES FOR GUAM AND CNMI

9.2 Structural Characteristics

Types of materials used for roofs, walls and foundations determine the structural composition of housing. The structural composition of the housing units can indicate the general level of housing quality. It can also indicate the overall socio-economic standing of the community that occupies the housing units. Table 9.2 shows the type of housing construction material used for the walls, roofs and foundations of the Micronesian migrant housing units in the Hawaii.

Walls. The largest groups of the Micronesian housing units in Hawaii had walls constructed of either poured concrete or concrete blocks. Approximately 70 percent of the post- and 66 percent of the pre-Compact households lived in housing units with walls made of either poured concrete or concrete blocks. About 43 percent of post- and 29 percent of the pre-Compact housing units had poured concrete walls, but 27 percent of the post- and 37 percent of the pre-Compact housing units had concrete block walls. About 30 percent of all migrant households lived in housing units with walls made of wood. Less than 2 percent of households lived in houses with walls constructed of metal and other materials.

Roofs. The largest groups of all Micronesian migrant housing units had roofs constructed of either poured concrete or concrete blocks. The most common roof material for these housing units was poured concrete. Approximately 48 percent of the post-Compact and 51 percent of the pre-Compact households live in housing units with roofs constructed of poured concrete. The second most common roof material was metal. About 37 percent of the post-Compact and 30 percent of the pre-Compact households lived in housing units with roofs constructed of metal. Less than 5 percent of all migrant housing units had roofs made of wood or other materials, although use of these materials was more common among the pre-Compact than the post-Compact housing units.

Foundation. Approximately 81 percent of all Micronesian migrant housing units had concrete foundations. The proportion of housing units with wood foundations was between 11 percent and 22 percent, with the highest proportion occupied by the pre-Compact (22 percent) and post-Compact (20 percent) FSM households. Less than 1 percent of the total housing units had foundations made of materials other than concrete or wood.

9.3 Plumbing and Water Characteristics

Data on the plumbing and water characteristics of households provide information on both housing quality and living conditions as well as the level of demand by consumers. Table 9.3 shows the plumbing and water characteristics of the Micronesian migrant housing units.

Source of Water and Water Supply. The largest groups of all Micronesian households used a public water system. Approximately 89 percent of the pre- and 92 percent of the post-Compact households used a public water system. Except for the FSM migrant households, few households use cistern, tanks or drums only or some other water source. Over 9 percent of both the pre- and post-Compact FSM households relied on cisterns, tanks and drums only for their water source, while 5 percent of the pre- and 3 percent of the post-Compact FSM households relied on some other source. Almost 3 percent of the post-Compact Palauan migrant households also relied on some other source of water. Of all the migrant households, only a few post-Compact FSM households relied on a public standpipe for their water.

The largest groups of all migrant households had inside hot and cold piped water. Approximately 96 percent of the pre- and 98 percent of the post-Compact migrants had inside hot and cold piped water. Approximately 4 percent of the post- and 5 percent of the pre-Compact FSM and 5 percent of the post-Compact Marshallese migrant households did not have piped water.

Plumbing Facilities. The largest groups of Micronesian housing units had either a bathtub or shower and a flush toilet. Approximately 97 percent of the post- and 98 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households had either a bathtub or shower. Almost 5 percent of the post-Compact FSM households did not have a bathtub or shower. About 89 percent of the post- and 92 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households had a flush toilet. About 3 percent of the post- and 4 percent of pre-Compact FSM households only had access to an outhouse or privy, while 12 percent of the post- and 8 percent of the pre-Compact FSM households only had access to other or no toilet facilities. Over 88 percent of all migrant households used public sewage disposal. About 5 percent of the pre- and 11 percent of the post-Compact FSM migrant households used a septic tank or a cesspool, but 11 percent of the post- and 7 percent of the pre-Compact FSM households used other sewage disposal means.

9.4 Equipment and Facilities

Table 9.4 shows the kitchen facilities and household equipment for the Micronesian migrant housing units in Hawaii. Over 93 percent of the post-Compact and 98 percent of the pre-Compact households had inside kitchen cooking facilities. Post-Compact households were more likely to have outside kitchen facilities than pre-Compact households. Approximately 17 percent of the Palauan, 9 percent of the Marshallese and 4 percent of the FSM post-Compact households had outside kitchen facilities. Few households (less than 2 percent) had no cooking facilities.

Approximately 98 percent of all Micronesian households in Hawaii were connected to electricity, and 84 percent of the pre- and 87 percent of the post-Compact migrant households used electricity as their fuel for cooking. About 14 percent of the post- and 13 percent of the pre-Compact households used gas as their fuel for cooking. Pre-compact Palauan households were the most likely to use gas (21 percent), followed by post-Compact FSM households (17 percent). Very few households (less than 1 percent) used kerosene, wood or other fuel sources for cooking. About 42 percent of the post- and 67 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households owned a microwave oven. In general, pre-Compact households were more likely to have a microwave oven than post-Compact households. The largest groups of all Micronesian households had either a gas or electric refrigerator. Less than 9 percent of the pre- and 4 percent of the post-Compact migrant households had not refrigerators. Over 95 percent of all households had a sink with piped water.

Telephones, radios and televisions are important for transmitting information, especially in times of emergency or potential catastrophe. Generally speaking, pre-Compact households were more likely than post-Compact households to have a telephone, radio and a television. Approximately 59 percent of the post- and 77 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households had a telephone. Pre-Compact Palauan households were the most likely to have a telephone (85 percent), while the post-Compact Marshallese households were the least likely (55 percent). About 62 percent of the post- and 75 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households owned radios. More households owned televisions than radios. Approximately 80 percent of the pre- and 91 percent of the post-Compact migrant households had televisions. Pre-Compact (94 percent) and post-Compact (92 percent) Palauan households were the most likely to own televisions.

An increase in the number of air conditioning units can increase the demand for energy by consumers. However, most Micronesian migrant households (83 percent) were not air-conditioned. About 13 percent of all households had one or more air conditioning units. Only about 4 percent of all households had central air conditioning.

Owning an automobile is important for transportation, but also is something of a status symbol. Automobiles, while increasing personal mobility, also often become a financial burden as well as contribute to various kind of pollution in an already fragile island environment. Approximately 43 percent of all pre- and 60 percent of all post-Compact migrant households had one or more cars. In general, post-Compact households were more likely to own a car than pre-Compact households. Pre-Compact FSM households were the most likely (64 percent) and post-Compact FSM households the least like to own a car.

CHAPTER 10

USE OF HEALTH SERVICES AND ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS[5]

Introduction

This Chapter looks at the level of health care services the Micronesian migrants to CNMI, Guam and Hawaii. These receiving governments provide services directly through emergency rooms and walk-in clinics and in the form of programs, such as Food Stamps, Welfare and medically indigent programs. The data used here come from the health services parts of the census questionnaires for the Micronesian migrants to the CNMI, Guam, and Hawaii. As with the other Chapters of this report, we have divided the households and population into those who came prior to and those who came after compact implementation (including Palau’s later compact launch in 1994).

Based on the responses, three general areas formed the guiding framework to view Micronesian residents use of government provided health care services, hence the demand on those respective governments. These include:

1. The first area is the type of health services Micronesians commonly used, followed by their prevalent health conditions, whether or not these conditions have effects on their ability to participate in the workforce.

2. The second area is where the migrants normally received care and through what specific government subsidized health plan.

3. The third area is the amount of welfare and food stamps dollars that the Micronesians used, before and after compact implementation.

Because of the very small numbers in some cases, more care than usual was used to protect anonymity of the respondents. Data for RMI migrant households in Guam and Saipan were suppressed; their household size in Hawaii was large enough, and so they were included. With these considerations and outline in mind, the flow of analysis follows for each of the receiving entities: Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the State of Hawaii.

10.1 GUAM

Health Status. The Micronesian Migrant censuses, like most censuses which ask about health status, required self definition. Hence, persons were considered “disabled” only if they considered themselves disabled. So, even if an outsider would look at a person and see a disability, that disability was only recorded if the respondent gave a response indicating disability. By the same token, persons who might not normally be considered disabled, would be recorded as disabled if they said they were.

The numbers of persons declaring disability are usually small, and these censuses are no exception. Out of the total 730 individuals who came before the compact, less than 2 percent had a permanent physical and mental health condition, compared to 1 percent after the compact (Table 10.1). Of the 696 individuals aged 16 years old and over who came to Guam before the compact and 1.4 percent of them, due to their condition, were limited from fully performing a job. More than 4,000 of the post-Compact 16 years olds were in this category and only 1 percent could not fully perform their job. Out of the 696 pre-Compact individuals, only 1 percent were prevented from holding a job, due to some form of physical, mental or health condition disability. Less than one percent of the post-Compact folks could not have a job due to their disability. Even fewer could not take care of their own personal needs.

Types of Health Services Used. Of the 1,335 household units occupied by at least one Freely Associated State (FAS) migrant in 1997, about 57 percent of pre-Compact migrants received some type of health care services compared to about 74 percent of the post-Compact migrants (Table 10.2)[6].

Out of these household units, 1,070 belonged to FSM migrants. About 73 percent of the pre-Compact FSM migrant households reported having used health services compared to 76 percent of the post-Compact migrant households. For the RMI, 96 percent of the households used health services, since Guam had too few RMI households to divide into pre- and post-Compact households. Palauans were much less likely to use health services than the Marshallese or the FSM migrants. Only 27 percent of the post-Compact Palau migrant households used any health service compared to 47 percent of the post-Compact migrant households.

Micronesian migrants used the emergency room more than any other type of health care service, regardless of whether the householder arrived before or after the compact. About 24 percent of the post-Compact and 8 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households used emergency rooms in the year before the enumeration. High emergency room use among these migrants could be because many they did not have health insurance. Also, for those who had insurance, many might have feared that their premiums might increase if they actually received care. Health care costs are covered in the regular expenditures Chapter.

About 11 percent of the post-Compact migrant households used public health nurses compared to 5 percent of the pre-Compact households. Similarly, 16 percent of the post-Compact and 8 percent of the pre-Compact households used immunization clinics. Only a few households used the Southern Regional Medical Center and the old age and blind programs. It is not clear what the “other” health services includes, but most likely these are contacts with regular doctors and nurses.

Table 10.2 also shows that larger proportions of post- than pre-Compact migrant households used the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program, Medicare, and the Medically Indigent Program (MIP). About 13 percent of the post-Compact households used the WIC program during the year compared to 6 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households. Similarly, 15 percent of the post-Compact and 6 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households received medicare, and 12 percent of the post-Compact and 5 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households received MIP. These figures seem to show that as the migrant households become part of the community, they develop financial resources, and no longer are as dependent on these insurance programs.

Entitlement Program Services Received: Food Stamps and Welfare. This section looks at Micronesian migrant householder users of entitlement programs. We look at use of food stamps and welfare as two of the services Guam provides to U.S. citizens and was providing to persons from the Freely Associated States.

For food stamps, about 1/6^th of the post-Compact migrant households had used food stamps during the month before enumeration, compared to less than 1/12^th of the pre-Compact migrant households (Table 10.3). The percents were higher for the FSM and RMI migrants, lower for those from Palau. The median amount of food stamps for the month was $288 for the post-Compact households and $380 for the pre-Compact households.

Fewer households were on welfare than used food stamps. About 12 percent of the post-Compact Micronesian migrant households on Guam received welfare in the month before enumeration compared to 5 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households (Table 10.4). RMI residents were more likely to receive welfare payments, Palauans much less likely. The median payment for post-Compact households was about $400, compared to about $450 for the pre-Compact households.

10.2 SAIPAN

Health Status. As on Guam, very few Micronesian migrants reported having disabilities. Less than 2 percent of the post-Compact and somewhat more than 2 percent of the pre-Compact migrants reported a permanent physical or mental health condition at the time of the enumeration on Saipan (Table 10.5). Of those 16 years and over, less than one percent of the post-Compact migrants reported health conditions that would limit the kind or amount of work at a job, would prevent them from working at a job at all, or would prevent them from taking care of their own personal needs. The results for the pre-Compact migrants were similar, with 1.6 percent having a limitation for the kind or amount of work to be done, one percent beingprevented from working at a job, and less than one person prevented from taking care of own personal needs.

Types of Health Services Used. Out of the 506 pre-Compact migrant households, 68 percent used some type of health services provided by the government through its public health clinics and programs (Table 10.6). Only 48 percent of the 237 post-Compact households used these services. The data also shows that a significant proportion of the migrants frequently used government provided services for their newborns and children, which was also higher after the compact as opposed to before, except in the case of Palauan migrants. However, only a few received services from the old age and blind program. About 1/10^th of the migrant households used maternal and child health programs, but less than one percent used old age and blind programs.

How the Micronesian migrants were accessing government provided health care services can be understood through the following breakdown: 24 percent out of the 506 pre-Compact migrant households receive WIC, 13 percent on Medicare or Medicaid and 4 percent were on MIP. Out of the 237 post-Compact households, 22 percent were on WIC, 11 percent on Medicare and Medicaid and only 3 percent on MIP.

The data seem to suggest that the proportion of migrants with some form of physical, mental and health conditions who came to CNMI, regardless of age, was less among the post-Compact migrants, compared to the pre-Compact, except in Palau's case

Entitlement Program Services Received: Food Stamps and Welfare. Unlike Guam, only a small number of the migrants in CNMI received foods stamp assistance: 16 percent of both the pre-Compact and post-Compact households. The median for the post-Compact households was $264 for the month before enumeration, compared to $288 for the pre-Compact households. Of course, the total number of households is barely more than 100 so it is difficult to discuss the long term implications of these numbers.

Only 4 Micronesian migrant households received any welfare payments (and these were probably associated with migration from Guam.) We present the figures only to give the full picture for comparative purposes.

10.3 STATE OF HAWAII

Health Status. The data for Hawaii also show a generally healthy migrant population. Less than 2 percent of the post-Compact migrants and about 2.5 percent of the pre-Compact migrants reported having permanent physical or mental health conditions (Table 10.9). Pre-compact Palauans had the highest rate, at 3.6 percent, followed by post-Compact RMI households, at 2.9 percent.

The numbers of disabled persons 16 years and over were also low. About 1.8 percent of post- and 2.1 percent of the pre-Compact migrants had a physical or mental health condition that limited the kind or amount of work they could do at a job. Only about one percent of the adult migrants had a disability that prevented working at a job, and one percent or less had a disability preventing taking care of their own personal needs.

Types of Health Services Used. About 69 percent of the post-Compact Micronesian migrant households and 74 percent of the pre-Compact households used some health services during the year before enumeration. Pre-Compact FSM migrants were the mostly likely to use these services in Hawaii, while post-Compact Palauans were the least likely to use health services.

Table 10.10 shows the types of and where the Micronesian migrants commonly use health care services. Overall, greater proportions of the post-Compact migrant households than pre-Compact migrant households used emergency rooms (10 percent compared to 9 percent), public health nurses (10 percent vs 5 percent), clinics services (14 vs 11 percent), and Lanikila Health Center (11 percent vs 7 percent).

Post-Compact migrant households were more likely to use WIC, Medicare and Medicaid or QUEST than pre-Compact migrant households, except for Medicare and Medicaid (where the proportions were about the same). Almost 1/4^th of the post-Compact households used the QUEST program compared to 1/5^th of the pre-Compact households.

Entitlement Program Services Received: Food Stamps and Welfare. About 14 percent of the post-Compact Micronesian migrant households had received food stamps in the month before enumeration, compared to about 9 percent of the post-Compact households. None of the Palauan households received food stamps. Marshall Islands households were more likely to be using food stamps than those from the FSM. The median amount of food stamps used by post-Compact households in the month before the census was $231 compared to $314 for the pre-Compact households.

In Hawaii, the same number (and probably the same households) of pre-Compact households were on welfare as were using food stamps – 9 percent of the units. More of the post-Compact households were on welfare, 18 percent of all post-Compact households. The median amount for the month before enumeration was $531 for post-Compact households and $633 for pre-Compact households.

Conclusion

Clearly the level of health services the Micronesian migrants in Guam, Saipan and Hawaii consumed is relatively high. In Saipan, this made up of 68 percent of the entire migrant population before the compact and 48 percent after the compact. The services commonly used include maternal and child health care such as prenatal/postpartum, immunization, follow-up for children and services for the old age and blind. About 16 percent of the pre-Compact migrants were on food stamps. In general there seems to be decrease in the level of health care services the Micronesian migrants consumed in Saipan, compared to the other two areas. The reason is not fully understood at this point, but one may attribute it to the seemingly slow post-Compact settlement in Saipan by the Micronesian migrants.

The pattern of migrant health care utilization in Guam is different from the other two areas, Saipan and Hawaii. It is different in that it not receives more influx of migrants after the compact but it also provides more health care services to these migrants through its entitlement programs. Almost 75 percent of the entire 979 post-Compact migrant households received health cares services, compared to 57 percent of the pre-Compact migrant households.

Hawaii also receives more migrants following the implementation of the compact of free association with the U.S. However, the proportion of the Micronesian migrant household who actually used health care services after the compact is less compared to before the compact. This is a striking difference, especially when a great proportion of these migrants were on the entitlement program list.

CHAPTER 11

REGULAR AND DAILY EXPENDITURES

All three Micronesian censuses asked questions about expenditures. These expenditures were divided into three types of expenditures: major expenditures, regular expenditures, and weekly expenditures. Major expenditures include purchases of large items like appliances, health services, car purchases, weddings and funerals, and so forth. Regular expenditures include utility bills, mortgage or rent payments, credit card bills, etc.

REGULAR EXPENDITURES

Guam. Table 11.1 shows general regular household expenditures for Micronesian migrants and their children for Guam in 1997. Some of the items were collected on a monthly basis, like mortgage payments, rent, utilities, and loan payments. Others were collected on an annual basis, like money spent on weddings, funerals, church, and so forth. Of the 1,344 households reporting at least one regular household expenditure, 983 (73 percent) were Post-Compact units, and the other 351 were pre-Compact units.

The figures are presented by post- and pre-Compact households, so readers wanting to obtain averages for all Micronesian migrants can either refer back to the detailed tables or note that the post-Compact houses contributed about 3/4^th to the total. Hence, while about 9 in every 10 of the post-Compact households paid rent, this was true for only 6 in 10 of the pre-Compact households. The average would be about 8 in 10, since the post-Compact households made a larger contribution.

On the other hand, all households in Guam made some utility payments, although some of them had more amenities than others. Almost all units paid for electricity and water, but only half of the post-Compact households had telephone bills compared to 4 in 5 of the pre-Compact migrants. Because a television is needed to have cable connection, only 3 in 10 of the post-Compact migrants had cable compared to about 2 in 5 of the pre-Compact migrants.

Among other regular expenditures, about 65 percent of the post-Compact households had vehicle payments, mostly loan payments, compared to 74 percent of the pre-Compact households. These figures show, perhaps, that time is required to establish a settled life, and then to buy a vehicle (and start making loan payments on it).

Finally, 73 percent of the post-Compact households and 56 percent of the pre-Compact households had “other” major regular expenditures. Of these, the largest number of households had family responsibilities (63 percent of the post-Compact and 49 percent of the pre-Compact households), Church (62 percent and 41 percent, respectively), and funerals (60 percent and 45 percent, respectively).

Table 11.2 shows the average amounts for the households having general regular household expenditures. The average expenditures, of more than $14,000 were about the same for post-Compact and pre-Compact households, although the expenditures varied by Freely Associated State. Pre-Compact FSM households had higher than average expenditures, Marshall Islands households also had higher average expenditures, but Palau households had lower average expenditures. It is important that only households having at least one expense in the categories listed are included, and that the averages are for these households only. Households not having any expense, or not having any expense for a particular category, are not included in the denominator or numerator.

The average annual rent for post-Compact households was $6,920 (about $575 per month), and for pre-Compact households was $7,391 (about $615 per month). Rent was slightly higher for the Marshallese and the Palauans than for those from the FSM, but these rents did not represent actual housing conditions. Utilities costs were running about $2,245 (about $187 per month) for the post-Compact migrants and $2,605 (about $217 per month) for the pre-Compact migrants. The biggest average costs were for electricity ($89 per month for the post-Compact and $103 per month for the pre-Compact households) and water. The average household paid more than $400 per year for telephone service, and a similar amount for Cable TV.

Loan payments for vehicles was the largest single expense listed. The average post-Compact household was paying about $9,200 ($766 per month) on loan payments for all vehicles compared to $17,177 ($1,431 per month) for the pre-Compact housing units. Average vehicle insurance costs were about $900 per year.

The average post-Compact household on Guam spent $1,542 for other major expenditures compared to $1,666 for the pre-Compact households. The largest single amounts for the categories listed were $514 for funerals for the post-Compact migrants and $526 for the pre-Compact migrants and $490 for remittances sent overseas for post-Compact migrants and $529 for pre-Compact migrants.