"NEW REPORT REVEALS NATION'S GROWING DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN IMMIGRANTS SINCE 2000"

From a July 2004 press release from Northeastern University ("in the heart of Boston"):

After making up nearly half of the overall growth in the nation's labor force during the decade of the 1990s, new immigrants have been responsible for 60 percent of civilian labor force growth between 2000 and 2004 and captured all of the net gains in employment over the past four years, according to a new report from Northeastern's Center for Labor Market Studies.

"The share of national labor force growth accounted for by new immigrants is historically unprecedented," said Andrew Sum, lead author of the report, "Foreign Immigration and the Labor Force of the U.S.," which was co-authored Ishwar Khatiwada and Sheila Palma, also of Northeastern.

During the 1990s, new foreign immigrants made up nearly half of all the labor force growth experienced in the nation, an all time historical high for the United States. Now, according to this new analysis of the past four years, reliance on the foreign-born in the labor market has grown dramatically over the past four years, between 2000 and 2004, despite the recession of 2001, the jobless recovery of 2002-2003 and post-September 11 restrictions of immigration. At no other time in history, the report finds, has the U.S. been so dependent on foreign immigrants for our growth in labor force and employment... [bolding theirs -- LW]

A copy of the full study can be downloaded from the link above. The press release has a few more stats.

A January 2004 press release from Northeastern seems to be about the same report, and it contains the following from one of the study authors:


"The continued high levels of new immigrant employment at a time when job prospects for native-born workers have dwindled represent an issue that should be part of the national dialogue among all candidates for president, Democrat and Republican," [study co-author Andrew] Sum said. "All candidates must take a stand on this crucial labor market issue. The nation needs a comprehensive, carefully thought through national immigration policy that takes labor market impacts into consideration."

In May, Northeastern released on report on bleak summer job prospects for U.S. teens:

Andrew Sum, the main author of the report, says that young people who lack high school diplomas, those living in low income families, those who are minorities, and those who live in low-income neighborhoods are at the greatest risk of not finding work.

"Heart of Boston," key Democratic constituencies, hmmm... Maybe Kerry will see the light sometime before November 3.

Comments

If this trend were to continue, from lack of immigration control, the unemployment rate of citizens will never decline; there will be only vacancies from retirements available. There has been a pretense that retirements will be so numerous that only immigration can fill the gap; yet the experience of job-seekers has yet to show any such development. This a subject on which businessmen cannot be trusted to tell the truth.