US unemployment is having an effect well beyond the country’s own borders and will contribute to a larger-than-expected drop in the amount of money migrant workers send home this year, the World Bank said on Monday.

The international financial institution said that global remittance flows to developing countries would fall by 7 per cent to 10 per cent this year, down from a previous estimate of a 5-8 per cent decline. Remittance flows last year increased 15 per cent, from $285bn in 2007 to $328bn (€235bn, £202bn), beating their estimate.