Labor-Intensive Industries
New Study Shows Smarter Tourist Visa Laws Would Add More Than $7.5 Billion in Revenue and 50,000 Jobs Within Five Years
The Partnership for a New American Economy today released a new study showing how expanding the Visa Waiver Program to six new countries – Brazil, Hong Kong, Israel, Poland, South Africa, and Turkey – would result in $7.66 billion additional spending and 50,000 American jobs within five years. “Expanding the… Read More
An opportunity to lead for new GOP Congress
The president’s executive action on immigration reform should be instructive for the GOP as the leadership enacts a governing agenda in the new Congress. The lesson here is the president’s “go it alone” immigration actions do little to… Read More
For farmers’ sake: Ag jobs hinge on result of immigration debate
Gov. Mike Pence is off on another ideological mission – at taxpayer expense, of course. He’s joined a coalition of states, led by Texas, in a legal challenge of President Barack Obama’s executive order on immigration last month. Even Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who leaped at… Read More
St. Anthony: Business is making case for immigration reform
The politics that has stalled comprehensive immigration reform hurts affected businesses, workers and communities that benefit from the economic, cultural and human benefits. President Obama is using his presidential authority to grant work permits to up to 5 million immigrants living illegally, or undocumented, in the United States,… Read More
Obama Immigration Order to Impact Millions, Includes Provisions for High-Skilled Workers
Nov. 21 — President Barack Obama Nov. 20 unveiled a large-scale immigration plan that includes several measures designed to keep highly skilled immigrant workers in the U.S. as well as deportation protection for an estimated 5 million undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. Read More
Why the Industrial Market Needs Immigration Reform
As an industrial broker for the past three decades, I have personally come to know many business owners and leaders, and have come to understand the needs of their organizations. From manufacturers to third-party logistics firms, businesses rely on access to a skilled and reliable workforce. The problem,… Read More
Obama’s plan offers hope for Triangle immigrants
RALEIGH — Mercedes Garcia’s phone started ringing Wednesday, a whole day before President Barack Obama’s prime-time speech on his immigration plan. The 36-year-old, a native of Mexico, came to this country as a child with her parents. She has gotten married here, given birth to four children here and held… Read More
Agribusiness Call for Immigration Reform From New GOP Majority
This isn’t the first time that Brent Olmstead, president of Milk Producers of Idaho and executive director of the Idaho Business Coalition for Immigration Reform, and Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Ivan Castillo have called on Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform… Read More
Business leader’s plea to GOP: You won, now fix immigration
In the wake of the last election, millions of decent immigrants remain hostages to partisanship. Last week, Republicans gained majorities in the U.S. House and Senate and at least three governorships, including Illinois. President Barack Obama reiterated his vow of an executive order on immigration reform before the end… Read More
Report Finds Foreign-born Minnesotans Contribute Billions in Purchasing Power and Taxes, Strengthen State Housing Market
CONTACTS Sarah Radosevich, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, [email protected] Angie Zeitlin, New American Economy, [email protected] Adriana La Rotta, Americas Society/Council of the Americas, [email protected] 40% of Minnesota’s Fortune 500 Companies founded by immigrants or their children Average home value in… Read More
Demographic Shifts
Over the last two decades, the size of the U.S.-born population with a high school degree or less has significantly decreased. This trend is particularly evident among young workers, ages 25-44, the group typically most capable of doing physically demanding work. As this population declined, however, the number of jobs for workers with that education level held steady. Thus, real and persistent gaps in the American workforce have opened up, especially in agriculture, hospitality, and meatpacking. Foreign-born workers—a group considerably more likely than natives to lack education beyond high school—step in to fill those jobs that would otherwise remain vacant.
Sources:
1 New American Economy, “A Crucial Piece of the Puzzle: Demographic Change and Why Immigrants are Needed to Fill America’s Less-Skilled Labor Gap,” March 2014. Available online.
2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Industry-Occupation Employment Matrix 2014-2024, April 2016. Available online.
Educational Breakdown of Foreign-Born and Native-Born Populations, 2014
Occupations Dependent on Immigrants
The foreign-born make up 16.5 percent of the working-age population in the United States. In some particularly labor-intensive fields, their role is much greater. From 2008 to 2012, for instance, immigrants made up 72.9 percent of field and crop workers. In other large industries, such as construction, foreign-born workers frequently take on the most physically demanding roles, while U.S.-born workers frequently prefer positions that require more English-language skills or experience in management or customer service. In fact, of the top 10 occupations with the largest share of immigrant workers, nine of them are labor-intensive in nature or involve repetitive, manual tasks.
Sources:
3 Author’s analysis of 2015 American Community Survey data.
Top 10 Occupations with Highest Share of Immigrant Workers, 20153
Help Wanted
Across communities and industries, employers report trouble finding enough workers. Between 2002 and 2014, the number of field and crop workers in America declined by 146,000, causing major labor shortages on U.S. farms. A rapidly aging population also strains the healthcare workforce, a problem likely to worsen as more Baby Boomers retire. In many fields, immigrants can and do help businesses find the workers they need to compete and grow.
Sources:
4 “2016/2017 Talent Shortage Survey: The United States Results,” ManpowerGroup, n.d., Available online.
5 Home Care Pulse. “2015 Private Duty Benchmarking Study.” April 2015.
6 New American Economy, "International Harvest: A Case Study of How Foreign Workers Help American Farms Grow Crops – and the Economy," May 2013. Available online.
Jobs Americans Won’t Do: Evidence from the North Carolina Farming Industry, 20116
The Impact on American Workers
Although long a controversial issue among academics and policymakers, there is widespread evidence that the presence of more immigrants with relatively low levels of education does not substantially displace U.S.-born workers. Instead, a greater supply of less-skilled immigrants is linked to a decrease in offshoring7 and an expansion of firms on U.S. soil8—resulting in net benefits for U.S.-born workers across the board. The unique way in which immigrants frequently slot into the workforce—gravitating toward more manual or repetitive tasks—also means an influx of less-skilled immigrants has only a moderate impact, if any, on the wages of less-educated U.S.-born workers, particularly over the long term. Instead, they compete most directly with other immigrant workers.9
Sources:
7 Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano, Giovanni Peri, and Greg C. Wright, “Immigration, Offshoring and American Jobs," National Bureau of Economic Research, October 2010. Available online.
8 William W. Olney, “IMMIGRATION AND FIRM EXPANSION,” Journal of Regional Science 53 (2013), doi:10.1111/jors.12004.
9 Heidi Shierholz, “Immigration and Wages: Methodological Advancements Confirm Modest Gains for Native Workers,” February 4, 2010. Available online.
10 Ibid.
11 Findings come from an NAE report that examines the benefit of a one standard deviation increase in birthplace diversity among workers in the bottom half of all earners in a given workplace or metropolitan area. More details can be found in the full report, available here.
12 Based on an analysis of 1998-2008 data; William W. Olney, “IMMIGRATION AND FIRM EXPANSION,” Journal of Regional Science 53 (2013), doi:10.1111/jors.12004.
Estimated Impact of Immigration on the Wages of Less-Educated Workers, 1994-200710
Wage Impact Felt by Employees in the Same Workplace or City When the Lowest Paid Workers Become More Internationally Diverse11
Number of New Establishments that are Created when the Share of Less-Educated Immigrants in a Metropolitan Area Rises by 10 Percent12
Costs of a Farmworker Shortage
In 2014, more than 56 percent of entry-level farmworkers in the United States were immigrants. Given this, changes in immigrant labor supply tend to ripple across the U.S. agriculture economy. In the last decade, a 75 percent slowdown in the arrival of young, low-skilled immigrant farmworkers meant shortages for entry-level field and crop positions. Many farmers report that the H-2A visa program, which allows the recruitment of foreign-born farmworkers, is too cumbersome and expensive—leaving them few ways to replenish their workforce. The result is many farms cutting their production of fresh fruits and vegetables.13
Sources:
13 “NCAE Survey of 2010 H-2A Employers - Final Summary," National Council of Agricultural Employers, December 2011. Available online.
Decline of Field and Crop Workers in Key States, 2002-2014
Inadequate Visa Programs
Although immigrants already help fill gaps in the U.S. labor force, our current immigration system does not allow employers to recruit enough of the specific workers they need. Employers can sponsor low-skilled workers for an agricultural visa (the H-2A visa), or for a visa designed to meet seasonal demand at venues like hotels, amusement parks, and ski resorts (the H-2B visa). Both programs, however, are cumbersome and outdated. And many of the fields that struggle the most to find workers, including healthcare and construction, lack a dedicated visa altogether. Improvements must be made so more industries—and specific geographies—can recruit temporary foreign-born workers when no Americans are available for the job.
Sources:
14 “NCAE Survey of 2010 H-2A Employers - Final Summary, "National Council of Agricultural Employers, December 2011. Available online.
Make a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
