Labor-Intensive Industries
A Crucial Piece of the Puzzle
Strong demand for less-skilled workers is being undermined by a declining number of young people willing and able to work less-skilled jobs, according to a report, “A Crucial Piece of the… Read More
Immigration reform: recognize contributions by making the system work
St. Patrick’s Day is not simply a holiday to celebrate Irish heritage; it’s also a celebration of the immigration of many Irishmen and women to the shores of our country. From America’s founding, immigrants from a vast array of countries have been a central cornerstone of our nation’s incredible economic… Read More
Former Gov’s Say Pass Immigration Bill
August 19, 2013 Jeanne Bonner, GPB News ATLANTA — Leaders of a bi-partisan coalition backing immigration reform say businesses need to press Congress on the issue. Speaking at a forum Monday in Atlanta, two former governors of Mississippi and Pennsylvania said that’s because many U.S. companies can’t wait any… Read More
Immigration Reform Pushed in Idaho
August 19, 2013 Kristin Rodine, Hispanic Business Many of the people Ivan Carrillo sells auto insurance to are in Idaho illegally. They work hard, pay taxes, buy insurance and live in fear of being forced out, he says. Carrillo relates to that anxiety: A native of Mexico, he came to… Read More
Bipartisan Immigration Group Recommends Pathway To Citizenship
August 15, 2013 Elise Foley, Huffington Post WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group including former governors and cabinet secretaries recommended on Thursday that immigration reform include a path to citizenship that begins with granting provisional status right away, rather than delaying the process until after enforcement and border security improvements are… Read More
Immigration Reform Critical to Local Agricultural Production
William Woody, The Watch July 25, 2013 Olathe Farmer Cautiously Watching, Hoping Lawmakers Can Work Together WESTERN SLOPE – As over 100 migrant workers pick and package sweet corn from fields west of Olathe, nearly 2,000 miles away, in Washington D.C., members of Congress continue to pick at each other… Read More
US: Labor shortage hastens push for immigration reform
Fresh Plaza July 29, 2013 Nearly a month after the US Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill, the debate in the House drags on. Meanwhile, local farmers are eager for a solution. They’re facing an ongoing labor shortage that many feel could be solved by immigration reform. Joe Pezzini walks… Read More
Paul Ryan: Immigrants ‘Bring Labor to Our Economy So Jobs Can Get Done’
Nancy Cook, The National Journal July 25, 2013 In the past month, Rep. Paul Ryan, normally so focused on fiscal matters, has shifted his attention to immigration. He isn’t pitching reform as a humanitarian or budget-cutting move, though other advocates say it would be both. Instead, the House Budget Committee… Read More
Intro: Labor-intensive Industries
Immigrants working in labor-intensive industries are critical to the U.S. economy. The American workforce is becoming older and better educated, with only 7.4 percent of Americans now lacking a high school diploma, compared to over 50 percent in the 1960s. But labor-intensive workers are still needed for industries like manufacturing, agriculture,… Read More
These Three Facts Prove That America Needs More Immigrants
Business Insider May 22, 2013 By Somesh Dash America finally has an opportunity to establish a sensible immigration policy in the coming months. The effects of the policy will have far reaching ramifications in terms of both economic and social implications for the country in years to come. 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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