Labor Market Impacts

Economic theory suggests that the impact of immigration overall on the economy is likely to be small and for any negative effects to dissipate over the longer term as the economy adjusts to a larger labor supply. The research collected here examines the labor market impacts of immigration, including how immigrant and native-born workers fare over time, as well as how their skill levels, countries of origin, gender, and other characteristics affect their outcomes in the workforce.

Recent Activity

Multimedia November 15, 2021 MPI 20th Anniversary Conference: Migration & Humanitarian Protection in a Rapidly Evolving World	Multimedia November 12, 2021 Leveraging the Benefits That Immigration Can Bring
Commentaries October 2021 Labor Shortages during the Pandemic and Beyond: What Role Can Immigration Policy Play? By Kate Hooper	Policy Briefs September 2021 Immigrants’ U.S. Labor Market Disadvantage in the COVID-19 Economy: The Role of Geography and Industries of Employment By Randy Capps, Jeanne Batalova and Julia Gelatt
Reports August 2021 Taking the Long View: Options for Inclusive Post-Pandemic Labor Markets By Liam Patuzzi	Articles August 19, 2021 United Kingdom’s Decades-Long Immigration Shift Interrupted by Brexit and the Pandemic By Will Somerville and Peter William Walsh
Policy Briefs June 2021 Immigrant and Other U.S. Workers a Year into the Pandemic: A Focus on Top Immigrant States By Julia Gelatt, Jeanne Batalova and Christopher Levesque	Multimedia June 24, 2021 Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States: A Persistent Problem with Increasing Costs

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Reports October 2018 Jobs in 2028: How Will Changing Labor Markets Affect Immigrant Integration in Europe? By Meghan Benton and Liam Patuzzi	Reports September 2018 A Profile of Houston’s Diverse Immigrant Population in a Rapidly Changing Policy Landscape By Randy Capps and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Reports July 2018 A Needed Evidence Revolution: Using Cost-Benefit Analysis to Improve Refugee Integration Programming By Meghan Benton and Paul Diegert	Books June 2018 Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together By Andrew Selee
Reports November 2017 Safe or Sorry? Prospects for Britons in the European Union after Brexit By Meghan Benton	Reports March 2017 Improving the Labour Market Integration of Migrants and Refugees: Empowering Cities through Better Use of EU Instruments By Kate Hooper, Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Brian Salant
Fact Sheets December 2016 The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in Select States By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix	Reports December 2016 Untapped Talent: The Costs of Brain Waste among Highly Skilled Immigrants in the United States By Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix and James D. Bachmeier

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Profile

June 6, 2019

Migration and Integration in Czechia: Policy Advances and the Hand Brake of Populism

Since regaining its independence in 1989, the Czech Republic has transformed from a country of emigration to one of rising immigration, amid growing labor market needs. Even as Czechia received few asylum seekers during the 2015-16 European migration crisis, the country has taken a harder line on immigration, and public opinion and political stances have grown more negative towards immigrants and refugees.

Flags from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on display

Feature

May 8, 2019

Can Return Migration Revitalize the Baltics? Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania Engage Their Diasporas, with Mixed Results

Faced with high emigration rates and shrinking, aging populations, the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—are exploring different ways to lure back nationals who have emigrated and establish or solidify ties with members of the diaspora. Of the three countries, Estonia is proving the most successful, while Latvia appears to be ignoring the looming demographic crisis and lacks an immigration plan.

Feature

February 21, 2019

A Fragile Situation: Will the Syrian Refugee Swell Push Lebanon Over the Edge?

Lebanon is home to more refugees per capita than any other country. The arrival of approximately 1 million refugees from neighboring Syria has created tensions not only with the native population, but also with long-established Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon. A lack of integration and resources, plus a complex domestic context, suggest further hardship may lie ahead for recent and earlier-arrived refugees alike.

Profile

December 6, 2018

Sweden: By Turns Welcoming and Restrictive in its Immigration Policy

Swedish asylum policy has taken a restrictionist turn since the country received a record-breaking number of asylum seekers in 2015 and after electoral gains by the nationalist, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats pushed the governing coalition to a harder line. Still, other aspects of the country’s migration policy remain welcoming, as this country profile explores.

Feature

April 18, 2018

Once Homogenous, Tiny Iceland Opens Its Doors to Immigrants

A small, isolated country, Iceland has been home to a largely homogenous population for much of its history. But in recent years, a booming economy and expanding tourism sector have drawn rising numbers of immigrants to the island nation. This article explores Iceland's balancing act of maintaining economic growth through immigration while preserving its culture and language.

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Video, Audio

May 9, 2019

A Mirror for the Nation? The Changing Profile of Mexican Immigrants in Texas

At this discussion, experts from MPI and Southern Methodist University’s Texas-Mexico Center offer an overview of trends and key characteristics of highly skilled Mexican adults at the national level and for Texas, including educational levels by legal status and top industries of employment across Texas metro areas. They also discuss the policy implications of these findings.

Video, Audio

March 8, 2019

Upskilling the U.S. Labor Force: Mapping the Credentials of Immigrant-Origin Workers

This webinar discusses the first-ever profile of the 30 million immigrant-origin adults in the United States who lack a postsecondary credential and offers analysis of the significant payoff credentials could bring in terms of workforce participation and wages.

Video, Audio

June 5, 2018

Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together

Marking the release of MPI President Andrew Selee's latest book, speakers explore emerging trends in migration, economic interdependence, technology innovation, and cultural exchange that are transforming the relationship between the United States and Mexico, and the policy implications

Audio

March 15, 2018

State and Local Labor Standards Enforcement in Immigrant-Dense Industries

This discussion, featuring California's Labor Commissioner and the head of the Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation, launched a report that examines state innovations in labor standards enforcement in low-wage, immigrant-dense industries. With wage underpayment, payroll fraud, and other violations widespread in industries such as construction and car-washing, the discussion focused on how targeted enforcement can deter practices that hurt native-born and immigrant workers alike, cost state tax revenue, and disadvantage law-abiding employers.

Brexit Medal (Mick Baker) rooster flickr 34650733120_5265bf2627_z

Video, Audio

November 7, 2017

Life Beyond Brexit: How Are Negotiations Faring Over Rights for UK Citizens in the European Union?

As the European Council gears up to move onto the next phase of Brexit negotiations, this MPI Europe webinar features findings from an MPI Europe report that offers a demographic profile of the approximately 1 million UK citizens living in the European Union and examines the ways in which many are likely to see their futures significantly reshaped after Brexit. The discussion takes stock of citizens' rights, reflects on what may happen next, and considers the prospects for Britons abroad both in a situation of ‘no deal’ and if there is an ultimate agreement.

Recent Activity

Policy Briefs

November 2020

At the Starting Gate: The Incoming Biden Administration’s Immigration Plans

Joe Biden pledged during his campaign to reverse some of the most restrictive immigration actions undertaken during Donald Trump’s four years in office. While some actions can be undone with the stroke of a pen, others will take more time. This policy brief outlines the incoming administration’s top immigration priorities, examines challenges and opportunities ahead, and previews MPI policy ideas that could improve the immigration system and advance the national interest.

Reports

October 2020

Navigating the Future of Work: The Role of Immigrant-Origin Workers in the Changing U.S. Economy

Immigrants and their U.S.-born children are key drivers of U.S. labor force growth. As some occupations grow and others decline, this report explores how these immigrant-origin workers fit within the changing world of work. It examines the degree to which workers from different racial/ethnic groups hold growing and declining jobs, and what changes in the mix of jobs mean for workforce development and immigration policy.

Commentaries

October 2020

Broad and Blunt, the Trump Administration’s H-1B Changes Miss the Opportunity for Real Reform

The Trump administration's changes to the H-1B visa program are the most significant in three decades, promising to end the practice of replacing U.S. workers with highly skilled immigrants. While the problems the administration has identified and the interest in protecting U.S. workers are legitimate ones, its approach may cripple the H-1B program itself, as this commentary explains.

Policy Briefs

October 2020

Will International Migration Governance Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a range of (im)mobility challenges that the international community has few tools to address. This policy brief examines the valuable guidance offered by the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration on short-term emergency response and the longer-term reopening of international migration. It also considers how the pandemic is affecting the relationship between migration and development.

Fact Sheets

June 2020

COVID-19 and Unemployment: Assessing the Early Fallout for Immigrants and Other U.S. Workers

Even as the pandemic-induced loss of tens of millions of jobs over a period of weeks dealt a devastating blow across the United States, its effects were most pronounced on certain demographic groups: Immigrant women and, regardless whether they were born in or outside the United States, Latinos and workers with less than a high school degree or under age 25.

Articles

May 29, 2020

The U.S. Stands Alone in Explicitly Basing Coronavirus-Linked Immigration Restrictions on Economic Grounds

The U.S. in April became the first country to explicitly justify immigration curbs not on grounds of COVID-19, but to protect the jobs of U.S. workers at a time of skyrocketing unemployment. A Trump administration proclamation limiting green cards for new arrivals was greeted coolly by the president's base, with many expecting the White House would issue new limits for nonimmigrant workers—which could have a more significant impact.

Articles

May 1, 2020

Under Lockdown Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Europe Feels the Pinch from Slowed Intra-EU Labor Mobility

Border closures and lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic have put a chill on intra-EU labor mobility, most immediately with the difficulty for European farmers to gain access to much-needed seasonal workers and for health-care institutions to get care workers. This article explores how these workers, who often face difficult situations, may be more vulnerable now. It also takes on implications for intra-EU labor mobility post-pandemic.

Expert Q&A, Audio

March 31, 2020

Expert Podcast: Meeting Seasonal Labor Needs in the Age of COVID-19

Governments are facing urgent pandemic-related questions. One of the more pressing ones: Who is going to harvest crops in countries that rely heavily on seasonal foreign workers? In this podcast, MPI experts examine ways in which countries could address labor shortages in agriculture, including recruiting native-born workers and letting already present seasonal workers stay longer. Catch an interesting discussion as border closures have halted the movement of seasonal workers even as crops are approaching harvest in some places.

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