Why Immigration is Vital To The US Economy

The USA is home to more immigrants than any other country in the world, with 19% of all immigrants around the globe calling the United States their home. The feeling of many is that the US provides a better life for these migrants, and whilst that is certainly true in many cases, we cannot forget the important role which they play when it comes to strengthening our economy. Additionally it is important to remember the role that migrants have played in the diversification of the nation, which is by far and away one of the reasons why many consider this to be the greatest country on the planet.

Let’s take a look into why migrants arrive and what they provide for our economy.

Working in the US

For the most part immigrants come here to find jobs, skilled jobs and to earn a better wage than they may be able to in their home nation. In fact this is why we see such a huge amount of remittances, which is an international money transfer, back to the home nations of immigrants each year. This is how migrants share the wealth with their family back home, who may not be able to count on jobs, or jobs which are well paid.

Boosting Communities

The immigrant labor force work at incredibly high rates in job positions which are critical for our communities. This includes healthcare workers, cleaners, cooks, builders, trash collectors, teachers and many more roles which are critical to supporting the local economy and our communities.

Boosting The Birth Rate

In recent years we have seen the birth rate drop to historically low levels, which can eventually lead to a decline in the labor force and a higher dependence on healthcare. Thanks to migrants however we can ensure that the labor force remains strong both now and in the future. Migrants who upgrade their lifestyles once they secure a solid income are more likely to have children and thus reverse that decline in the birth rate.

Upwards Mobility

There is clear evidence that the children of immigrants have high levels of ambition as to what they will achieve in their lives. Recent studies show that children of immigrants reach higher levels of education, higher earnings and work in higher ranked jobs than their parents. This upwards mobility contributes greatly to the success of our economy.

Emerging Sectors

We have to get away from this idea that immigrants only work in low paid jobs, this is absolutely not the case. In fact we are seeing emerging sectors such as Pharma and tech which are absolutely reliant on the abilities and skills of migrant workers to move the country forward. We only need to take a look at the Covid-19 vaccine, which was developed by foreign-born scientists, to showcase exactly what these individuals are able to contribute to the nation’s economy.

There is no doubt that without the volume of migrant workers which the US has, the economy would be far away from where it is right now.