For decades El Salvador has been reliant on migration, mainly to the US, to provide remittances and an outlet for widespread underemployment. The deportation of tens of thousands of migrants annually by the United States, however, threatens to exacerbate problems of joblessness, poverty, and informality in local economies, calling into question the suitability of prevailing economic development strategies. This study proposes an alternative approach—labor force-based development—that was initially proposed to assist US cities confronting widespread job losses following deindustrialization. Through a survey of 198 Salvadorans who were apprehended by US immigration authorities and deported, this article documents deportees’ employment experiences in El Salvador and the US, tenure in their primary occupation, education and training obtained, and the localities to which they will return. It also provides recommendations for improving the employment outcomes of deportees. Given that a substantial proportion of deportees have worked in the construction industry, opportunities exist for designing workforce development programs that meet the needs of jobseekers as well as local communities facing housing shortages.

几十年来，萨尔瓦多一直依靠移民（主要是移民到美国）来提供汇款和广泛的就业不足的出路。但是，美国每年将成千上万的移民驱逐出境，这可能加剧当地经济中的失业，贫困和非正规性问题，这对现行经济发展战略的适用性提出了质疑。这项研究提出了一种替代方法，即以劳动力为基础的发展，最初是为了帮助美国城市在去工业化之后面临广泛的工作机会流失。通过对198名被美国移民当局逮捕并被驱逐出境的萨尔瓦多人的调查，本文记录了被驱逐者在萨尔瓦多和美国的就业经历，主要职业任期，所受教育和培训，以及他们将返回的地点。它还提供了改善被驱逐者就业成果的建议。鉴于有很大一部分被驱逐者从事建筑业，因此有机会设计满足求职者以及面临住房短缺的当地社区需求的劳动力发展计划。