Study: All Employment Growth Since 2000 Went to Immigrants

"Government data show that since 2000 all of the net gain in the number of working-age (16 to 65) people holding a job has gone to immigrants (legal and illegal)," report Center for Immigration Studies scholars Steven A Camarota and Karen Zeigler in a new study.

Among their findings:

• The total number of working-age (16 to 65) immigrants (legal and illegal) holding a job increased 5.7 million from the first quarter of 2000 to the first quarter of 2014, while declining 127,000 for natives. 
• In the first quarter of 2000, there were 114.8 million working-age natives holding a job; in the first quarter of 2014 it was 114.7 million. 
• Because the native-born population grew significantly, but the number working actually fell, there were 17 million more working-age natives not working in the first quarter of 2014 than in 2000.
• Immigrants have made gains across the labor market, including lower-skilled jobs such as maintenance, construction, and food service; middle-skilled jobs like office support and health care support; and higher-skilled jobs, including management, computers, and health care practitioners.
• The supply of potential workers is enormous: 8.7 million native college graduates are not working, as are 17 million with some college, and 25.3 million with no more than a high school education.

The authors drew these conclusions with regard to the Senate's 'Gang of Eight' bills and current immigration debate:

With 58 million working-age natives not working, the Schumer-Rubio bill (S.744) and similar House measures that would substantially increase the number of foreign workers allowed in the country seem out of touch with the realities of the U.S. labor market.

Three conclusions can be drawn from this analysis:

First, the long-term decline in the employment for natives across age and education levels is a clear indication that there is no general labor shortage, which is a primary justification for the large increases in immigration (skilled and unskilled) in the Schumer-Rubio bill and similar House proposals.

Second, the decline in work among the native-born over the last 14 years of high immigration is consistent with research showing that immigration reduces employment for natives.

Third, the trends since 2000 challenge the argument that immigration on balance increases job opportunities for natives. Over 17 million immigrants arrived in the country in the last 14 years, yet native employment has deteriorated significantly.

NYT: Jobs Few, Grads Flock to Unpaid Internships

With an April unemployment rate of 13.2% for 20- to 24-year-olds, college grads are taking unpaid internships to get a foot in an employer's door, reports the New York Times, and many aren't happy about the limited work options or what some view as "exploitation."

Grasping at Employment Straws

Despite MSM cheer leading, "last Friday's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Situation report," writes Louis Woodhill at RealClearMarkets, "was actually terrible."

BLS uses Payroll Employment numbers to conclude there was an increase of 200,000 jobs from Nov to Dec 2011. But, notes the author, BLS's Household Survey—"which is a more accurate picture of labor market conditions"— shows:

• the civilian labor force fell by 50,000 in December, following a 120,000 decline in November
• for all of 2011, the labor force rose only by 274,000
• during the first 3 years of Obama's presidency, the labor force fell by 0.7 million overall.

"December marked the 30th month of Obama's economic recovery. During this time, the reported unemployment rate fell from 9.5 percent to 8.5 percent. However, this 'improvement' was entirely an artifact of workers giving up and dropping out of the labor force. In fact, if labor force participation had remained constant at the 67.5 percent level that obtained at the end of the recession (June 2009), December's unemployment rate would have been reported at 10.9 percent."

Read the entire article here.

Could Millennials be the Next 'Greatest Generation'?

Since we work with young college-age women, we tend to follow polls and trends of the 18 to 30 age group. Recent articles suggest those under age 30 — the Millennial generation — are facing tough times, and it's causing them to undergo the kind of philosophical shift that often occurs when reality overwhelms ideals. Could the tough times forge the Millennials into the next 'greatest generation'?

Mothers as the New Breadwinners?

Robert Patterson's statistics-packed article in the Washington Examiner points to a troubling employment picture for men ages 25-54, a better-than-average unemployment rate for women, and a trend, with government's assistance, in the feminization of the workforce. Women should file this under "be careful what you wish for..."