For years the spokesmen of our Establishment have told us that immigration does not increase unemployment among Americans. Perhaps this is true for the kinds of up-scale jobs that these advocates have such as punditry for major media. Few immigrants, particularly the illegal ones, have the language skills and academic qualifications necessary for this kind of employment. It’s another matter altogether when immigrants are in the same job market as unskilled American workers.
Sometimes, however, the powers-that-be let the truth slip out. One recent example was the statement of Federal Reserve Chairmen Jerome Powell that the surges of immigration during the Biden Administration have indeed raised unemployment. In announcing his interest rate cut of 0.5 percent, Powell stated, “The economy has cooled as unemployment has risen, and one of the things that’s allowed the unemployment rate to rise” [has been] “quite an influx across the borders.”
The official unemployment rate, however, doesn’t reflect the true state of joblessness in the United States. For one thing, it counts people as being employed who can’t find full-time employment and must settle for one or more part-time jobs. For another, the official figure doesn’t account for the growing number of working-age Americans who have simply dropped out of the workforce. Immigration, as it depresses wages, contributes to their demoralization.
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