Thread: US Workers Rejecting Jobs as Immigrants Drive Down Wages

June 26 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush, addressing the nation on his immigration-overhaul plan last month, declared that granting temporary visas to immigrants would merely give them a chance at ``jobs Americans are not doing.''

A growing number of economists challenge the contention that Americans aren't willing to take on those low-end jobs; it's kitchen-table economics, not the sweat factor, that keeps them away.

These economists' studies indicate many Americans want those jobs -- they just can't afford to take them because of declining pay and benefits. And they say the influx of immigrants has helped drive down compensation in occupations such as the needle trades, landscaping and restaurant help.

``The idea that somehow you have a need for people to do jobs that Americans won't do is just insane,'' says George Borjas, an economist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who has written extensively about immigration and wages. He says that as immigrants flow into an occupation, ``the wage goes down, and you go do something else.''

The issue has become central to the debate over immigration, a controversy that has divided the Republican Party and the nation.

Philip Harvey, a professor of law and economics at the Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, says that salaries for the lowest-wage workers in all occupations increased by 7.4 percent from 2001 to 2005, while pay for all jobs rose by 11.4 percent during the same period. Harvey's study used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Recent Decades

The disparity is greater over recent decades. The bottom 10 percent of wage-earners is the only group that has seen a decline in real wages -- 2.4 percent -- since 1979, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think-tank with ties to organized labor. The group's study was also based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Administration officials, who are advancing a plan to establish a guest-worker program for immigrants and a path to citizenship for undocumented aliens, say newcomers aren't elbowing aside American job-seekers. ``We have got jobs that are available, that need to get done, that American citizens are not willing to do,'' Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said in a June 14 interview.

The precise effect of immigration on the U.S. economy is a source of debate among economists. Some say it isn't fair to blame immigration flows for wage shifts. The transition to a post-industrial information economy and the growing impact of globalization may be more critical factors, they say.

``Immigration has relatively little to do with the state of the American job market,'' says Bradford DeLong, professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley. ``Globalization has a bunch.''

Exaggerated Threat

Pro-immigration business groups say that those on the other side of the debate exaggerate the threat posed by undocumented workers. Martin Regalia, chief economist at the Washington-based U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business lobby, says many of the nation's unemployed are seeking higher-end jobs than those that immigrants typically take.

In Regalia's view, heeding calls to send undocumented workers packing would create labor shortages. ``The hyperbole that comes into this debate doesn't mesh well with the numbers,'' he says.

Immigrants form a larger segment of the work force in the U.S. than in some European countries. Foreign-born workers made up 14.7 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force in 2005, according to Census data. In the U.K. and Germany, the figures were 9.6 percent and 12.2 percent respectively in 2004, the last year for which they were available, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Continued Interest

There is evidence that Americans continue to be interested in low-skill jobs ranging from tailoring to hotel service to food preparation, some of the industries where immigrants are making their biggest inroads.

Steven Camarota, research director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based group that backs immigration controls, says Census data show U.S. natives still make up the majority of workers in most of these occupations.

For example, he said, indigenous workers account for 62 percent of all maids and housekeepers and 60 percent of dry-wall installers, based on 2003-2004 Census figures. ``There's a high degree of native interest in being a maid or housekeeper,'' Camarota says. ``If the wages were better, you certainly could attract more.''

Loading Freight

James Lynch, a 45-year-old unemployed electrician from Fayetteville, North Carolina, says he's unloaded freight and held two other temporary jobs since he lost a well-paying position at an electrical-contracting firm in Durham in 2004. None of those stints led to permanent work, a situation he blames on immigrants willing to toil for sub-par wages.

Lynch says he passed up the chance to apply for full-time status at his subsequent jobs because employers ``wanted me to work for a lot less pay than I'm used to getting. They can go and get cheaper labor'' from immigrant ranks.

Immigrant wages are lower on average than those for the native-born, according to a study by the Urban Institute, a Washington research group. It found nearly half of immigrants earn less than 200 percent of the minimum wage as opposed to about one-third of native-born workers.

Still, some economists say, if immigrants are grabbing off so many jobs, why has the U.S. entered a period of sustained low unemployment? The national unemployment rate in May was only 4.6 percent.

Other experts say the rosy unemployment numbers mask the growing number of Americans who are not participating in the labor force. That number rose to 35.5 million in 2005 from 30.8 million in 2000, says Camarota, citing Census data.

Beyond the Fringe

Aside from low wages, the lack of fringe benefits for jobs in low-wage industries may be discouraging native-born applicants. The percentage of workers earning between $10,000 and $20,000 a year who were eligible for a company-sponsored health plan in 2002 was 56 percent, compared to 92.4 percent for those earning $50,000 or more, according to an analysis by the non- partisan Employee Benefit Research Institute.

In construction, one of the U.S. occupations where immigrants make up an increasing share of the workforce, 46 percent of workers have no employer-provided health plan, statistics compiled by the Laborers' International Union show.

For his part, Bush continues to assert that immigrant labor is vital to economic prosperity. ``It makes sense to say, if someone is willing to do a job Americans aren't doing, here's a temporary way to come and work,'' he said in May 18 remarks in Yuma, Arizona.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pi ... news_index

I would like to share a story that happened in my family regarding this nonsense about "Jobs Americans won't do".

I have a grandson who, for the past three years, has been working summers with a contractor in his community to help pay to college. This year when he called the contractor to get the "summer schedule", he was told that he wouldn't be needed. Now, my grandson (not that I'm prejudiced), is a creative thinker. So he went to various places in his community to put in his application for the summer. These employers basically told him "don't call us, we'll call you". I think we all here know how that works.

In any case, my grandson, decided to ask the contractor if the man had any "scut" jobs that he could do, so he went to a project site, and guess what he found. A lot of migrant workers. When he cornered the contractor, an argument ensued, and my grandson was told point blank that the contractor could hire "those people" for 1/2 of what he was paying my grandson.

I was furious. I got my son on the phone and told him to call the police, call immigration authorities, etc. My son told me he had done all of that. He said that the apporpriate authorities took down the information and left, and that basically nothing was done.

When our own government does not follow the laws it created, I have a tendency to get upset. How did we come to this?

Thanks for that story CW. These are the kind of stories that need to be repeated and repeated.

When our own government does not follow the laws it created, I have a tendency to get upset. How did we come to this?

We are being sold down the river. That is why we MUST stand up. For your grandson and his children. For all of our children.

When our own government does not follow the laws it created, I have a tendency to get upset. How did we come to this?

I guess by letting it slide or just not having contact with people who have had the same experience to prove it's a real problem. They have drilled in to us the concern for others, racism, etc. that we don't know we've been bulldozed till we see the tread marks.

Welcome....your grandsons story is all too familiar here. It's a totally off-balanced world out there and we need all the help we can get .

If we have a shortage of labor, then wouldn't it stand to reason that wages would increase? You don't have declining wages if there is a shortage of labor. I worked in the restaurant business for 16 years, nowadays, for one thing, I couldn't get a job doing that trade in San Diego, I can't speak Spanish. Another thing, back when I used to be a cook in 95, the wages were $12.00 and hour plus tips and benefits, now that same job at the same place is $8.00 an hour with no benefits. My brother was a roofer awhile back, before he moved away. When he moved back and tried to get another roofing job to make some quick money to get back on his feet. He went to a jobsite and the foreman asked how much he wanted in pay, he said $22.00 an hour, the foreman laughed and said, "hell, I can get three Mexicans for that amount". So this whole illegals only do jobs Americans refuse to do is nothing more than a lie. And how would Bush know anyway? When has he ever held a real job?

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If we have a shortage of labor, then wouldn't it stand to reason that wages would increase

Ya....in a logical and sane world. Unfortunatly that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. We wouldn't have the unemployment ratings either. And we KNOW those are far from the truth. It angers me to no end because they say we are doing better........but I haven't been paid close to what I used to make in the 80's since the 80's. Every single time.....no matter how many years of experience......back to square 1. But square 1 gets bumped back further and further each year.

Here is one of the first letters I wrote to Congress regarding this nonsense.

I've been reading, and hearing, about all the protests the illegal immigrants are having regarding this issue of illegal immigration. They carry flags from their countries draped around their shoulders, and yet wave placards stating "I'm an American". I think not!! That does seem to be somewhat of an oxymoron to me.

In my opinion, there are some facts here that are being completely ignored.

Everyone who is NOT a Native in this country is, per se, an immigrant, or their people were. But these old-time immigrants came to this county and abided by the laws that were set up. They took the tests; they became citizens; and they paid their taxes, because they wanted a better life for themselves and their children.

The children of these immigrants have been basically, God-fearing, law-abiding citizens. But something has happened these past two/three decades. The new God in this country is money. All the rest of it is simply lip service. They go to church on Sunday, and on Monday, they go back to doing everything they can to “get ahead”; to make more money; to get a bigger car; to get more “tinker toys”; to have a “better life”. Better than what? Better than the one their parents and grandparents had? Better than their neighbors?

So now we come to it – in order to have the “better life”, many of these people whose immigrant families came here legally, and worked themselves to the bone, now feel that it is “okay” to hire illegal immigrants, so they can make more money. So, they don’t have to pay all the associated taxes that go with having “legal” employees.

The argument is that these illegals “do work that Americans won’t do”. My first question is – “Why won’t Americans do these jobs?” Are they so disrespectful of their heritage -- their hard working parents, and grandparents, who saw no shame in doing any kind of work – that they think they’re “above” doing this sort of labor? That is ego on a colossal scale.

Why can’t our young people “pay their dues” by doing physical labor, like their parents and grandparents did? Have we taught them to be so elitist, and are they so pampered that they’re unwilling to do this? For Pete’s sake, Jesus Christ was a CARPENTER by trade!!!!!!!

Okay, the American youngsters don’t want to do the work. Much as that galls me, there is another group who might very well be willing and able to do it, if they were offered the opportunity. Here is an excerpt from the National Coalition for the Homeless:

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, there are approximately 760,000 people who are homeless in the United States on any given night, 2 million have been homeless at some time during the year, and 12 million of the adult residents of the U.S. have been homeless at some point in their lives. But in studies cited by NCH, about 3% of the total population in large cities uses homeless shelter over a period of time.

Why aren’t these “menial jobs” offered first to these people, who are already American citizens? I grant that there is a percentage of homeless people who don’t want jobs, but what about the percentage that does, and can’t get one because the illegal immigrants are doing it?

Somebody once said – Charity begins are home. Instead of coddling a bunch of people who broke our laws, and who abuse our social services systems, why are we not looking to our own citizens to fill jobs “that nobody else wants” first. Why shouldn’t American homeless people get the same advantages that illegal immigrants get? Shouldn’t we take care of our own citizens first – and let other countries take care of theirs?

Here are facts from the INS:

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) estimates that in January of 2000 there were 7 million illegal aliens living in the United States, a number that is growing by half a million a year. Thus, the illegal-alien population in 2003 stands at least 8 million. Included in this estimate are approximately 78,000 illegal aliens from countries who are of special concern in the war on terror. It is important to note that the 500,000 annual increase is the net growth in the illegal-alien population (new illegal immigration minus deaths, legalizations, and out-migration). The INS estimates that it gave out 1.5 million green cards to illegal aliens in the 1990s. This was not due to amnesty legislation, but rather reflects how the legal immigration process embraces illegal immigration and encourages it through legal exemptions. According to the INS, only 412,000 illegal aliens were removed during the decade.

The various “communities” that accept these illegal immigrants state the current statistic of 12 million illegal immigrants. 12 million people who do not support this country through their taxes – who overburden our school systems, who take advantage of our social welfare systems and hospital systems, and who pay nothing to support these systems from which they benefit. Sure, they buy consumer products – big deal. Is it okay for them to help businesses illegal practices?

Offering these people “amnesty” for breaking our laws, because there is pressure that companies need this “illegal” labor is ludicrous!!! Who is benefiting here? It certainly isn’t the ordinary, hard working American, who pays taxes and supports a social service system, with their tax dollars, that is so grievously taken advantage of by people who are not even American citizens . . . and whose first loyalty is obviously to the flag they have draped around their shoulders. How many of these people send the money they earn here back to their home countries?

I’m also been informed that the demonstrations we have observed over the past few weeks are paid for by “individuals” who pay these protestors. American citizens are not necessarily able to demonstrate because they’re too busy WORKING FOR A LIVING.


I did receive one letter from one of my local (Colorado) congressmen stating that he liked it and would like to use it in our legislature. I wonder how many other Colorado legislatures actually "listened" to it.