American Behavioral Scientist
Volume 56, Issue 8, 2012, Pages 1008-1028

Luxury, Necessity, and Anachronistic Workers: Does the United States Need Unskilled Immigrant Labor? (Article)

Bean F.D. , Brown S.K. , Bachmeier J.D. , Gubernskaya Z. , Smith C.D.
  • a University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
  • b University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
  • c Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
  • d University of California, Irvine, CA, United States
  • e University of California, Irvine, CA, United States

Abstract

This article assesses the labor market implications of less-skilled migration to the United States. It emphasizes how recent social, demographic, and economic trends have reduced the availability of less-skilled native workers, while new low-education immigrant workers compete with other less-skilled immigrants for available low-skilled jobs. Declines in native fertility to substantially below replacement levels, together with native educational upgrading, have substantially reduced the size of the less-skilled native-born labor pool in the past 30 years, even below the level of need. This trend cannot be explained by declines in low-skilled manufacturing employment. Other factors also serve to exacerbate the size of the shortfall in the availability of less-skilled natives, including mismatches in the locations of low-education natives and less-skilled jobs. Nativity differences in health, physical disability, and substance abuse also operate to widen the gap. The resulting void has largely been filled by increasing numbers of less-skilled immigrant workers. These patterns underscore the need for public policies that provide both less-skilled labor and reductions in social and economic inequalities in the United States. © 2012 SAGE Publications.

Author Keywords

less-skilled immigrant workers labor market competition fertility declines

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84863593339&doi=10.1177%2f0002764212441784&partnerID=40&md5=0f360728f8b227a66a41e009de2cb3e0
DOI: 10.1177/0002764212441784
ISSN: 00027642
Cited by: 15
Original Language: English