A Jobless Recovery?: Study Finds Immigrants Gained Jobs While Natives Lost Them

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http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/back1104release.html

 

A Jobless Recovery?

Study Finds Immigrants Gained

Jobs While Natives Lost Them

 

Read the report

http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/back1104.html

 

WASHINGTON (October 2004) – A new report from the Center for

Immigration Studies calls into question the wisdom of both

presidential candidates' proposals to amnesty illegal aliens and to

increase levels of new immigration.

 

The report, based on an analysis of the latest Census Bureau data,

shows that the number of adult immigrants holding a job increased by

over two million between 2000 and 2004, while the number of adult

natives holding a job decreased by nearly half a million. What's more,

job losses among native-born Americans tended to be highest in areas

with the largest immigrant influx.

The report, entitled " A Jobless Recovery? Immigrant Gains and Native

Losses, " is available in its entirety at

www.cis.org/articles/2002/back1104.html. Among the findings:

 

*

 

Between March of 2000 and 2004, the number of unemployed adult

natives increased by 2.3 million, while the number of employed adult

immigrants increased by 2.3 million.

*

 

Half of the 2.3 million increase in immigrant employment since

2000 is estimated to be from illegal immigration.

*

 

In addition to growth in unemployment, the number of working age

(18 to 64) natives who have left the labor force altogether has

increased by four million since 2000.

*

 

Even over the last year the same general pattern holds. Of the

900,000 net increase in jobs between March 2003 and 2004, two-thirds

went to immigrant workers, even though they account for only 15

percent of all adult workers.

*

 

In just the last year, the number of working-age natives not in

the labor force increased by 1.2 million. These are individuals are

not even trying to find a job.

*

 

Immigrant job gains have occurred throughout the labor market,

with more than two-thirds of their employment gains among workers who

have at least a high school degree.

*

 

There is little evidence that immigrants take only jobs

Americans don't want. Even those occupations with the highest

concentrations of new immigrants still employ millions of native-born

workers.

*

 

The decline in native employment was most pronounced in states

where immigrants increased their share of workers the most.

*

 

Occupations with the largest immigrant influx tended to have the

highest unemployment rates among natives.

*

 

The states with the largest increase in the number of immigrants

holding jobs were Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia,

California, Arizona, New Jersey, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

*

 

Of the nation's largest metropolitan areas, the biggest

increases in immigrant employment were in Los Angeles, Washington,

D.C., Dallas, Houston, New York, and Seattle.

 

The findings raise the very real possibility that immigration has

adversely affected native employment. While it would be an

oversimplification to assume that each job taken by an immigrant is a

job lost by a native, it is clear immigration has remained at record

levels and at the same time employment among the native-born has

declined. Unfortunately, both presidential candidates have chosen to

largely ignore this important issue. To the extent they have addressed

the question, both have advocated legalizing illegal aliens and

increasing legal immigration still further. Given the labor market

difficulties experienced by many natives, such proposals seem out of

step with the realities faced by many American workers.

 

For more information, contact Dr. Camarota at (202) 466-8185 or

sac

 

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The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institute

which examines the impact of immigration on the United States.