May 22, 2023
Forbes recently published an article featuring Patricia Cortes, Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law, discussing the recent statistics released by the Department of Labor showing that foreign-born workers are a growing proportion of the U.S. labor force.
The latest data from the Department of Labor proves that immigration does not lead to greater unemployment for U.S. workers. Illegal immigration is at a record high, while a Reuters report shows that black unemployment is at a record low. The latest data also provide more support for economists who have explained that immigrants improve the labor force participation rate of U.S.-born workers.
Cortes states, “The presence of foreign domestic workers has increased the labor supply of high-skilled native [U.S.-born] women, has helped narrow the gender earnings gap in high-paying powered occupations, and that these advances have not come at the cost of native [U.S.-born] women investing less time in their children or having lower birth rates.”
Immigration policy and U.S. labor force growth are linked, according to the latest economic data from the Department of Labor. A significant issue in the U.S. economy will be the aging of the American workforce and the shortage of scientists and engineers.