Do Immigrants Take Jobs From American-Born Workers?
In a recent essay in The Atlantic, David Frum argues that while economists generally feel that immigration helps the United States, an analysis of government figures shows that the growth in jobs since the recession has benefited only lower-paid immigrants. Do immigrants take jobs away from working-class citizens or has that threat to American economic stability been exaggerated?
* figures(pl) = (특히 공식적인 자료로 제시되는) 수치/ recession = 불경기, 불황/ working-class = 노동자 계층(계급)/ economic stability = 경제적 안정
이민자들은 노동차 계층의 시민들로 부터 직업을 빼앗아가나요 아니면 미국의 경제적 안정에 대한 위협은 과장되었나요?
1. Unskilled Workers Lose Out to Immigrants
1.5 million fewer native-born Americans are working now than in 2007, yet 2 million more immigrants are working.
2. An Aging U.S. is Revitalized by Immigrants
The increase in the number of immigrant workers has offset the decline in the U.S.-born prime working age population.
3. Immigrants Are Replacing, Not Displacing, Workers
U.S.-born workers are getting more educated. More jobs require little education, and they are being taken by immigrants.
Sample Essay
An Aging U.S. is Revitalized by Immigrants
We are seeing job growth in the United States. That’s very welcome news.
To say all of the net gain in employment since 2007 has gone to immigrants, as a recent backgrounder from the Center for Immigration Studies does, is a strained interpretation of the facts, not to mention an odd way to spin positive economic results as something vaguely dark and threatening.
Immigrants are part of America’s DNA. Rather than looking for scapegoats in an economy that is growing we should concentrate on improving opportunities for all Americans, both immigrants and U.S.-born.
Why is net growth in the number of jobs held by U.S.-born workers slow? Part of the story is that many are retiring. Between 2007 and 2014 the U.S.-born population in prime working age — between 25 to 54 years old — declined by 1.9 million. And, among people in prime working age, U.S.-born workers seem to do better at finding a job.
At the same time, the number of immigrant workers has increased by 1.7 million, nearly offsetting the decline in the U.S.-born prime working age. The number of immigrant employers has increased as well. Immigrants are both employees and employers: they are a little more likely than the rest of the population to own a business, and, as an upcoming report will explore in detail, they are frequent contributors to local economic growth.
There is no doubt that it would be better to replace our broken immigration system with one that functions well. A nonpartisan commission, as former labor secretary Ray Marshall has proposed, could make employment-based visas responsive to labor market conditions in the U.S. — when there are shortages there would be more visas, and when there are not there would be fewer.
President Obama’s executive action is also a step in the right direction. It does not significantly add workers to the labor force, but it helps those who are already working avoid being taken advantage of by employers. That’s good for them, but it’s good for their nonimmigrant co-workers as well. And it will allow immigrants to seek a better job match, which will modestly increase both productivity and tax revenue.
