"Labor exploitation accounts for 13 percent of reported human trafficking victims in the United States", 17 Dec 2016

Human trafficking victims working in construction, farming or as domestic help are severely undercounted in the United States, where authorities often are failing to find them or protect them, a top United Nations expert on trafficking said. Labor exploitation accounts for 13 percent of reported human trafficking victims in the United States, while sex trafficking victims comprise 70 percent, said Maria Giammarinaro, U.N Special Rapporteur on human trafficking. "This for sure does not reflect the reality"..."From anecdotal evidence, we know that trafficking for labor exploitation is much more present in the country," she said in an interview on Friday as she concluded a nine-day U.S. tour..."The demand for cheap labor is the driving factor,"...adding criminal recruiters have found it "so easy" to enslave a person...The United States has been successful...in tackling cases of domestic servitude [but] "very little has been done in other sectors such as hospitality, agriculture and construction that we know are sectors prone to exploitation everywhere in the world," she added...She said in Britain the Gangmasters Licensing Authority had been effective in preventing labor trafficking in agriculture...