Labor-Intensive Industries
Republican legislators, ex-senator call on U.S. House to pass immigration reform
SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders of the Utah House and Senate and former Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, are calling on Utah’s congressional delegation to pass immigration reform this year. “The current system is broken, and the United States cannot afford to wait any longer to fix… Read More
Immigration reform is essential to our economy
People like myself all over the country are asking Congress to pass substantive immigration or guest worker reform this year. The chorus of voices continues to expand. Recently the Tea Party Express even endorsed reform. Sal Russo, their co-founder, said “Congress must pass legislation that will fix our broken system. Read More
Time for US House action on immigration
As a businessperson vitally concerned about jobs and the economy, I continue to be surprised by the lack of urgency in the U.S. House of Representatives to deal with a crucial economic issue — immigration reform. I hope the recent primary election defeat of House majority leader Eric… Read More
Texas Conservatives Say Congress Must Break Gridlock on Immigration Reform
Now that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has lost his primary to a Tea Party opponent, immigration legislation may be a tougher prospect. But in Texas, a number of Republicans say they’ll keep urging Washington to change immigration law. Included among those legislators is State… Read More
Why Eric Cantor’s Primary Defeat Has Few Implications In Texas
Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s opponent in the Virginia primary, David Brat, was relatively unknown but he challenged Cantor on his support for comprehensive immigration reform. Richard Murray, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said Cantor’s defeat means the chances… Read More
Rand Paul: ‘Amnesty’ a Muddled Term that Has ‘Trapped’ GOP
Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday that the term “amnesty” –- a charge often levied in clashes between the Tea Party and pragmatic wings of the GOP — has “trapped” the Republican Party. “I think we’ve been somewhat trapped by rhetoric… Read More
Rand Paul on immigration: GOP trapped in word ‘amnesty’
(CNN) – Immigration may not have been “the paramount issue” in Eric Cantor’s crushing primary loss, Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday. The Kentucky Republican, on a conference call with reporters, added that he’s still in favor of immigration reform and partly blamed… Read More
Rand Paul on Immigration Reform: ‘Amnesty Is a Word That’s Trapped Us’
Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) said conservatives have been “trapped” by referring to legalizing undocumented immigrants as amnesty – the word David Brat used to propel his primary victory over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.). “We’ve been somewhat trapped by… Read More
Paul: Immigration reform did not sink Cantor
FRANKFORT, KY. — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday that “the ball is moving forward” on immigration reform despite the surprise defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the Virginia primary. Cantor lost to Dave Brat, a little-known economics professor whose campaign focused largely on… Read More
Immigration reform impacts downtown Greenville restaurants too
South Carolina’s food system relies on immigrant labor, without which all of us would suffer, that was the message at an immigration reform event Thursday morning at Soby’s Restaurant in Greenville. Part local foods pep rally, part call to action, the event was organized by both the Partnership for a… 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.
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