A new study, authored by economists at Northeastern University and published by the Center for Immigration Studies, finds that young native-born workers are being displaced in the labor market by immigrants. Although one recent report by a Washington think tank found no relationship between immigration and native employment, that study did not focus on young workers who are often in direct competition with immigrants and are the ones most adversely affected.Remember this the next time you hear the line; "Immigrant workers are only filling the jobs Americans aren't willing to accept.
Among the findings:
-- Between 2000 and 2005, 4.1 million immigrant workers arrived from abroad, accounting for 86 percent of the net increase in the total number of employed persons (16 and older), the highest share ever recorded in the United States.
-- Of the 4.1 million new immigrant workers, between 1.4 and 2.7 million are estimated to be illegal immigrants.
-- Between 2000 and 2005, the number of young (16 to 34) native-born men who were employed declined by 1.7 million; at the same time, the number of new male immigrant workers increased by 1.9 million.
-- Multivariate statistical analyses show that the probability of teens and young adults (20-24) being employed was negatively affected by the number of new immigrant workers (legal and illegal) in their state.
-- The negative impacts tended to be larger for younger workers, for in-school youth compared to out-of-school youth, and for native-born black and Hispanic males compared to their white counterparts.
-- It appears that employers are substituting new immigrant workers for young native-born workers. The estimated sizes of these displacement effects were frequently quite large.
-- These findings are particularly troubling because a person's early work experience –– or lack thereof –– has a significant impact on their performance in the labor market later in life. It is when young that people learn the skills necessary to successful employment.
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