Capital Commerce

More Immigrants, More Jobs

By Matthew Bandyk

Posted: June 30, 2009

Byron York repeats the conventional wisdom about immigration's effect on employment:

Is this time of great economic distress really the right time to argue for greater immigration? "You want to bring more people in?" asks one incredulous GOP aide on Capitol Hill. "That was a hard case to make when unemployment was four percent, much less when it's almost ten percent."

But if anything, greater immigration becomes more necessary when there's more unemployment.

This argument assumes that there are a limited amount of jobs out there, and so each additional person looking for a job means one less job for someone else. It's funny that this argument is coming from a GOP aide, because his or her own party seems to reject this zero-sum logic in every case except immigration. Look at the GOP response to the climate change bill just passed by the House: they argue that it will kill jobs by raising costs to businesses. But immigration restrictions also increase costs to businesses by reducing the supply of labor, thus making it more expensive. So why is it "incredulous" that anyone could have a problem with this job-killer?

The evidence is actually pretty strong that immigrants create jobs--they don't steal them. The average entrepreneur in this country is an immigrant. Educated immigrants are more likely to create startup businesses than native-born Americans.

If we want to bring down this high unemployment rate, we can't shut out the people who are going to create new jobs. Allowing more H-1B visas and easing the process by which temporary workers can become citizens would expand the pool of jobs in the country.

Immigration vs Employment

The author's thesis does not hold water.

1950's

Population Growth = 11,516,000

Employment Growth = 7,215,000 (62.65%)

1960's

Population Growth = 19,449,000

Employment Growth = 13,862,000 (71.27%)

1970's

Population Growth = 30,811,000 (Depression in Mexico)

Eloyment Growth = 21,224,000 (68.88%)

1980's

Population Growth = 20,865,000

Employment Growth = 17,685,000 (84.76%)

1990's

Population Growth = 21,667,000

Employment Growth = 16,998,000 (78.45%)

2000's (Mar. 2009)

Population Growth = 26,254,000

Employment Growth = 5,137,000 (19.57%)

*********Data*********

Avg for previous 1950'- 1990's = (73.20%)

Avg. employment growth for 2000's should/would have been: = 19,218,994

Employment Shortfall 2000-2009 (March) = 14,081,994

Source Data:

BLS CPS Downloaded on 4/20/2009

http://www.bls.gov/data/

Formula: Each decade represents EOY Dec XXX9 to EOY Dec XXX9

Example: Decade of 1950's = Dec 1949 to Dec. 1959.

Series Id: LNU00000000

Not Seasonally Adjusted

Series title: (Unadj) Population Level

Labor force status: Civilian noninstitutional population

Age: 16 years and over

Series Id: LNU02000000

Not Seasonally Adjusted

Series title: (Unadj) Employment Level

Labor force status: Employed

Age: 16 years and over

weaver of CA @ Jul 07, 2009 16:48:01 PM

outsource Bandyk

Another silly, sophomoric opinion on immigration from Bandyk.

First, are we talking about immigration or illegal immigration -- two entirely different things? Bandyk seems to conflate the two.

Regarding legal immigration, we allow an average of 138,000 legal foreign workers in our country per MONTH. Still this is not enough to satisfy Bandyk, who relies on shoddy research and contorted logic to make his (weak) case.

The H-1B visa scam is well-known and I suggest Bandyk take his head out of the sand and look at the evidence.

Regarding illegal immigration, there are an estimated 12-20 million low-skilled, largely impoverished illegal aliens in our country, with an estimated 8 million of these illegally employed -- stealing (yes STEALING) 8 million jobs from Americans.

Look at how illegal immigration has devastated the Black working class in Los Angeles and other cities? Bandyk apparently cares little about this.

Unemployment is now at a 26-year high, with fewer jobs available in our economy than there were ten years ago. With the mass legal and illegal immigration that has occurred during this period, it looks like Bandyk's immigrants haven't created that many jobs for the lazy, non risk-taking Americans.

As much as Bandyk, the Wall Street Journal, and other cheap labor enthusiasts try to spin and deny the obvious, the fact remains both legal and illegal immigrants do and are taking jobs away from Americans -- while businesses shifts the social costs of this onto the backs of American taxpayers.

It is time undo the radical effects of the 1965 Immigration Act, revert to pre-1965 levels of legal immigration, and vigorously enforce existing immigration laws and mandate E-Verify to end illegal immigration and decrease the illegal population.

Stan of OH @ Jul 03, 2009 23:06:46 PM

Simple Way to Create American jobs. End H-1B and L-1 Corporate Visa Fraud and Abuse.

A Simple and Fair Way Create American jobs. End H-1B and L-1 Corporate Visa fraud and abuse.

And, we have the tools to make it happen. US Senate bill, S.887.

S. 887 - Senator Dubin's new bill to reform H-1b and L-1 Corporate Visa Fraud and Abuse to protect American jobs and ensure Americans get a fair chance to compete for jobs in our own country.

Congress – Support S. 887. No more American layoffs. Fix H-1b and L-1 Fraud and abuse NOW.

Americans we need your help. Insist elected officials support S.887. We must stop corporate Stop visa fraud and abuse before more Americans and lose their jobs, their homes, their savings, and their insurance.

Unemployment and Visa Workers

A criminal investigation of H-1b visa fraud, the US DOJ found

- H-1B workers OUTNUMBER UNEMPLOYED American techies

- H-1B employers DISPLACE QUALIFIED American workers and DEPRIVE U.S. citizens of employment.

- H-1B workers in Information Technology "substantially" exceeded the 241,000 unemployed US citizens in the same occupation.

And, that's the tip of the iceberg. Don’t forget the 20% fraud found by Feds

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9133529

How did this happen?

Corporate greed. Bottomless lobbyist funding. Microsoft H-1B lobbyist? Convicted felon Jack Abramoff.

The result of this toxic formula - Congress passed laws that make it legal for employers to lay off Americans and recruit their replacements exclusively offshore.

Why Microsoft can’t find qualified local talent and needs to go offshore?

Lay off Americans. Replace them with corporate visa workers. Solicit laid off Americans and offer 50% for their old jobs.

ACT NOW BEFORE ONE MORE AMERICAN GETS LAID OFF AND REPLACED BY FOREIGN CORPORATE VISA WORKER

Please Tell Your FRIENDS, FAMILY MEMBERS, and COLLEAGUES. Tell them to INSIST their elected officials support S 887.

Help us create American jobs by ending corporate visa abuse and fraud, and give Americans a fair chance to compete for jobs in our own country.

For more information about the bill and how together we can restore American jobs for American citizens please visit www.brightfuture.jobs.

Replaced By H1b of WA @ Jul 03, 2009 02:48:29 AM

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Capital Commerce

Capital Commerce

U.S. News business reporter Matthew Bandyk examines the issues, people, and debates that shape the nexus of political and economic life in the nation's capital.

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