U.S. immigrants finding work; native-born losing out
By Beth Barrett
Staff Writer
During the past four years of relative economic weakness, immigrants made all the net employment gains in the United States, filling nearly 2.3 million additional jobs while there were almost 500,000 fewer native-born Americans working, according to a report released today by the Center for Immigration Studies.
The report by the Washington, D.C.-based think tank, based on a study of U.S. census figures, says people in the country illegally accounted for about half the increase in immigrant workers. The study found that about 1.1 million immigrants who got work between March 2000 and March 2004 had no more than a high school education _ statistics that reflect the fact the gains were made in lower-paying, less-skilled jobs.
In Southern California, native-born workers accounted for about 18 percent of the increase in the ranks of the employed, while immigrants were about 82 percent of the additional 398,000 holding jobs in Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties.
California, the state with the most immigrant workers, at 5.3 million in 2004, deviated sharply from the national trend, with the 329,000 increase in the ranks of the employed nearly split between native workers and immigrants. But, outside Southern California, the state actually lost jobs in the four-year period because of the dot-com collapse.
"The potential harm is that immigration is adversely affecting employment opportunities for native Americans during an economic downturn," said Steven A. Camarota, director of research at the center, which studies the impact of immigration.
"If the question is who should the U.S. serve, U.S. citizens or people who would like to come here, it's a value judgment, but I'd say the government should serve Americans first," Camarota said in an interview. He said policies that encourage employers to compete through low-wage immigrant labor need re-evaluation.
While not challenging the data, other experts offered sharply different views on the significance of the information.
Harry Pachon, president of the nonprofit Thomas Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California, said the Center for Immigration Studies has an anti-immigrant point of view and lacks objectivity in its analyses.
Pachon said the report is consistent with the point of view that the American economy is a "lifeboat" in which each newcomer causes the raft to sink a little more.
"There is another analogy where the economy is seen as a ship-building exercise, where the more workers, the bigger the ship you can build," he said. "There are pluses and minuses to immigration. It is not a one-sided picture.
"One interesting thing about immigration control is that all the talk is about enforcement at the border, and there is hardly any talk about employer sanctions. As long as there is that schizophrenic (approach), looking at immigration objectively will be very difficult."
Jared Bernstein, senior economist with the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute think tank, said the fundamental problem is a weak economy that doesn't provide enough jobs in any sector, even as it currently favors immigrants because most new jobs are low-paying.
"While it's indisputable in the report that in the absence of immigrants, these jobs would go to natives, ... the problem with papers like this is that they take just a snapshot, so it looks like immigrants displace natives. A couple of years ago, the low-wage labor market was handily absorbing workers.
"This says more about the structure of demand and the kind of jobs we've been creating. In the 1990s, we had as much immigration as now. ... The problem is weak demand for labor throughout the job market. We're adding jobs at too slow a clip."
Labor experts said there is a bias among many employers who view immigrants as harder workers, willing to accept lower wages and fewer benefits and less likely to unionize or complain.
"Much like an addict, ... the addiction to low wages and immigrant labor, you can't imagine what the world would be like without it," Camarota said. "Where 10 years ago you didn't use it, now you see it as a necessity. To go off it, you'd have to go through employer withdrawal, and that's the situation some employers are in."
Dowell Myers, a University of Southern California professor of urban planning and demography, said in general immigrants are politically docile.
"Immigrants are filling the jobs because they work harder and cheaper. Employers have a preference for the immigrant workers, nationwide."
In Los Angeles, policy-makers said the high demand for immigrant labor among businesses seeking a competitive edge has broad social implications.
Daniel Flaming, president of the Economic Roundtable in Los Angeles, which studies local economic conditions, said American society has chosen a path that is "very open to downward (wage) pressure," rejecting more protectionist labor strategies favored in some European countries.
"Employers are looking for cheaper labor, and there is substantial hiring of immigrants in sectors where employers avoid social safety-net contributions. Society is unfortunately tolerating employers who are competing unfairly.
"Because immigrants are marginalized economically, they are needy workers who will in many cases accept those employment conditions. I agree that has undesirable social consequences, but you can't hang it on immigrants alone. We share responsibility when we buy products made under those conditions, or have a tolerant view of those employers."
David Diaz, California State University, Northridge, professor of Latino and urban studies, said the immigrant labor trend has historical roots in California.
"Business owners have had a constant and vigorous demand for low-wage immigrant labor, ... no matter how they get it.
"Politicians who rant and rave about immigrant labor should not patronize restaurants nor have fund-raisers at hotels (that employ immigrants) if they really want to have an impact in what they're saying, or they're just squawking for political consumption."
Bruce D. Ackerman, president and chief executive of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, said it is difficult to determine the overall impact of immigrant workers on the economy.
"From our standpoint, the need for customer-service training and English-as-a-second-language training has never been higher."
Beth Barrett, (818) 713-3731 beth.barrett@dailynews.com |
