For the first time since 2000, Mexico's maquiladora industry has begun hiring more workers thanks to growing strength in the U.S. manufacturing sector. Employment in the primarily American-owned assembly plants grew 7.1 percent last year to 1.1 million workers, says the El Paso branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

According to one of the Bank's economists, Mexico's maquiladoras are still losing ground to Asia in the competition for light-assembly jobs, but gains are being made in the so-called "service" maquilas. These operations perform such tasks as sorting supermarket coupons to making repairs on home appliances returned by consumers.

Furthermore, just about all of the employment gains went to three cities: Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, and Matamoros, all of which are considered transportation hubs near the U.S.-Mexico border. Other Mexican cities, for instance Piedras Negras and Ciudad Acuna, actually lost maquila jobs in 2004.

In the meantime, Mexico's trade deficit is expected to widen this year to $16.4 billion-double of what the country posted in 2004. Although a demand for Mexican exports from the U.S. will help, the country's imports of consumer goods are expected to grow considerably faster in 2005.

Mexico's free trade agreement with Japan went into effect on April 1, and it's estimated that exports to that country could increase by 10 percent a year.