A recent report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has shed light on the distribution of job growth in the United States since 2019, revealing that only one-quarter of the gains have gone to natural-born Americans. The study provides context to the “historically strong job market” touted by the New York Times and may explain the lingering dissatisfaction among voters regarding President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy.
According to the CIS analysis, while the country has indeed added millions of jobs since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of that employment growth has been absorbed by both legal and illegal immigrants. A study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that between May 2019 and May 2024, the number of employed natural-born Americans increased by 971,000, while the number of employed immigrants rose by a staggering 3.2 million.
The report also highlights a concerning trend in the labor force participation rate among U.S.-born men between the ages of 25 and 54, which has dropped to 88.4 percent, one of the lowest levels ever recorded. This figure represents a significant decline from the 96 percent participation rate in 1960. Among U.S.-born men in the same age range with a high school diploma or less, the labor force participation rate stands at a mere 81.6 percent, just slightly above the lowest level ever recorded.
The CIS report challenges the argument put forth by advocates who claim that there are simply not enough workers without immigrants, pointing out that this stance ignores the long-term deterioration in labor force participation among U.S.-born men.
The findings come amidst a record-breaking surge in illegal immigration under the Biden administration, with officials recording over 9.5 million nationwide encounters and an estimated 1.7 million illegal immigrant gotaways. Additionally, the foreign-born population residing in the United States has reached an all-time high of 51.6 million, marking an increase of 5.1 million since March 2022.
