immigration and employment
FEARS:
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Americans have long been concerned that the introduction of immigrants, legal and especially illegal, will reduce the number of available jobs for native citizens by creating a glut in the labor supply. This concern has been reflected in media since the first major wave of immigration in the mid-19th century.
"The enormous influx of alien foreigners will in the end prove ruinous to American workingmen, by REDUCING THE WAGES OF LABOR to a standard that will drive them from the farms and workshops altogether." --The Philadelphia Sun in 1854 "They’re taking our jobs, they’re taking our manufacturing, they’re taking our money, they’re taking everything, and they’re killing us at the border.” --Donald Trump on Mexican immigration, July 2015 The reality of the situation is, according to a number of recent studies, these concerns are unfounded. According to Economics professor John McLaren of the University of Virginia and Gihoon Hong of the University of Indiana at South Bend, an influx of immigrant workers created jobs did not go down. In their study, they write:
"Using US Census data from 1980 to 2000, we find considerable evidence for these effects: Each immigrant creates 1.2 local jobs for local workers, most of them going to native workers, and 62% of these jobs are in non-traded services. Immigrants appear to raise local non-tradeables sector wages and to attract native-born workers from elsewhere in the country." |