U.S. labor market: No signs of "job theft" by immigrants

Since President Biden took office, the US economy has made remarkable progress, including the creation of 15.7 million new jobs. Despite these positive developments, former President Donald Trump continues to claim that these job gains solely benefit illegal immigrants. However, a more nuanced analysis presents a different picture. It is indeed correct that a considerable portion of the employment growth is attributable to immigrants. Yet, these job appointments do not come at the expense of the native population. If that were the case, one would expect a significant increase in the unemployment rate among natives. However, this rate remains near a historic low. Critics argue that the low unemployment rate is due to immigrants completely displacing native workers from the labor market. A decline in the labor force participation rate among domestic adults is indeed observable. However, this trend had been predicted before the pandemic due to the aging of the native population and the retirement of the baby boomers. Regarding the impact of migration on wages, earlier studies may have overestimated the competition between low-skilled immigrants and similarly qualified natives. Newer research suggests that immigrants generally bring different skills and jobs, complementing rather than directly competing with natives. Notably, the recent phase of increased immigration coincided with exceptional wage growth for low-income workers. In addition to these insights, immigration also contributes to fiscal consolidation in the long term. Immigrants of working age pay taxes for many years before they can claim benefits from Medicare and Social Security. Undocumented immigrants are particularly advantageous in this respect as they contribute to social security systems without being eligible for benefits. Conclusion: The fear of a "job theft" by immigrants does not withstand factual scrutiny. Immigration has rather contributed to strengthening the economic recovery and mitigating inflation risks.