E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Employment & the Economy

Employment & the Economy

_Employment+Economy

As workers and consumers, immigrants play a role in the labor markets and economies of the countries in which they settle. The research collected here examines how immigrants fare in the labor market, whether they are affected differently than native-born workers during cycles of boom and bust, the role of migration policymaking as a lever of competitiveness, employment of the foreign born by sector and skill, and the fiscal impacts of immigration. MPI's research also assesses the role of temporary workers and the labor recruitment process.

Recent Activity

Cover image for How Immigrants and Their U.S.-Born Children Fit into the Future U.S. Labor Market
Reports
April 2024
By  Jeanne Batalova, Julia Gelatt and Michael Fix
A returned migrant with his family in Bangladesh
Articles
Flags of South American countries.
Articles
People walk through the streets of Hong Kong
Image of female worker at the Boqueria market in Barcelona making a crepe
Commentaries
March 2024
By  Anna Terrón Cusí and Andrew Selee
A naturalization ceremony at the White House.

Pages

Cover image for How Immigrants and Their U.S.-Born Children Fit into the Future U.S. Labor Market
Reports
April 2024
By  Jeanne Batalova, Julia Gelatt and Michael Fix
Cover image for Converging Crises
Reports
March 2024
By  Luisa Feline Freier, Andrea Kvietok and Leon Lucar Oba
Cover image for A New Way Forward for Employment-Based Immigration
Policy Briefs
February 2024
By  Julia Gelatt and Muzaffar Chishti
Cover image for Migration and Displacement in Secondary Cities
Reports
November 2023
By  Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Camille Le Coz

Pages

A returned migrant with his family in Bangladesh

For a young country, Bangladesh has a complex migration history, with periods of forced migration during the partition of India and Pakistan as well as the 1971 war of independence. In recent years, labor emigration has proved a major economic boon to the country. This country profile reviews trends and the impact of emigration, with a particular focus on the effects of remittance sending and receipt.

Flags of South American countries.

The South American immigrant population in the United States has grown at a faster rate than that of the overall foreign-born population, amid crises in Venezuela, Colombia, and elsewhere. Yet South Americans still account for only about one in ten U.S. immigrants. While they mirror the overall U.S. immigrant population in several demographic characteristics, there are some notable differences, as this article details.

People walk through the streets of Hong Kong

Hong Kong finds itself in the middle of opposing trends. Amid political unrest, Beijing's increasing security pressure, and pandemic disruptions, many Hong Kongers have left and been replaced by a new group of immigrants, largely from mainland China. The dynamic has raised questions whether Hong Kong will remain a global cosmopolitan hub or instead turn inward to Asia, as this article discusses.

A naturalization ceremony at the White House.

Immigration touches on many facets of life in the United States. Get the facts with this useful resource, which compiles in one place answers to some of the most often-asked questions about immigration and immigrants in the United States now and historically. This article contains essential data on the immigrant population, immigration levels, trends in immigration enforcement, and much more.

A migrant from Nepal in Qatar.

Countries such as Nepal and the Philippines have grown reliant on sending workers abroad to earn money, skills, and connections that help boost their economies. In these cases, emigration has become a way for governments in the Global South to offer their citizens access to social services and protections that they could not otherwise provide. This article details the emergence of this new mode of state-society relations.

Pages

Image of female worker at the Boqueria market in Barcelona making a crepe
Commentaries
March 2024
By  Anna Terrón Cusí and Andrew Selee
Graphic image of man's hand touching screen with word skills
Commentaries
July 2023
By  Kate Hooper, Jeanne Batalova and Julia Gelatt
Photo of a teacher from Ukraine organizing activities for refugee children in Moldova
Commentaries
February 2023
By  Hanne Beirens, Lucía Salgado and Jasmijn Slootjes
Photo of a preschool teacher reading to students.
Commentaries
November 2022
By  Jacob Hofstetter, Alexis Fintland and Maki Park
Image of women and young children from Ukraine arriving at train station in Bucharest
Commentaries
October 2022
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper
A woman in a winter coat receives food from a woman in an orange safety vest at a train station in P
Commentaries
May 2022
By  Meghan Benton and Andrew Selee
Image of Central American migrant caravan passing through Chiapas, Mexico
Commentaries
April 2022
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee

Pages

Explainer_LegalImmigrationSystem Legal Immigration Pie_small
Explainers
April 2019

Through which visa categories can immigrants move temporarily or permanently to the United States? What are the main channels by which people come, and who can sponsor them for a green card? Are there limits on visa categories? And who is waiting in the green-card backlog? This explainer answers basic questions about temporary and permanent immigration via family, employment, humanitarian, and other channels.

Market on the dirt road, on a sunny day.
Video, Audio
November 16, 2023

This webinar examines the challenges that refugees and other migrants face in—and place on—secondary cities, municipal capacity to respond to needs, the types of support required at national and other levels, and how development actors can better partner with secondary cities and local actors.

Expert Q&A, Audio
August 24, 2023

MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses migration dynamics in West Africa and and how African leaders are responding to these trends with Leander Kandilige, a senior lecturer at the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana.

Central american migrants resting at Casa del Migrante in Tecun Uman, Guatemala.
Video
June 7, 2023

Marking release of a report, experts on this webinar examine migration narratives since 2018 and how they have been used to justify policy approaches or incentivize mobility decisions.

Video
April 19, 2023

This webinar, marking the launch of a report, looks at career and technical education programs and federal, state, and school district policies that support English Learners' inclusion in these programs.

Video, Audio
April 11, 2023

Marking the launch of MPI’s Global Skills and Talent Initiative, this webcast features senior policymakers and other experts discussing the extent to which labor market needs should shape future immigration policy decisions, and how countries are adjusting—and could adjust—their immigration systems to meet human capital and competitiveness needs.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
May 24, 2022

Con motivo de la publicación de un informe del Instituto de Política Migratoria sobre posibles vías de protección para las personas centroamericanas, este webcast ofrece un análisis sobre las vías humanitarias y de reasentamiento que ya se utilizan en la región así como las oportunidades y los obstáculos para expandir estos programas. 

Articles

Immigrants from the Caribbean living in the United States come from a diverse set of countries and territories, with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago the top origins. This article offers a sociodemographic profile of Caribbean immigrants, who represent 10 percent of the U.S. foreign-born population and nearly half of all Black immigrants in the United States.

Video, Audio, Webinars
June 14, 2022

Este seminario web, que presenta el lanzamiento de un informe, examina el potencial de Canadá, México y Costa Rica para expandir los programas de trabajadores temporales para los centroamericanos, ofreciendo un medio importante para convertir algunos flujos irregulares en flujos legales.

Video, Webinars
June 21, 2022

On this webinar, speakers discuss the main challenges faced by countries of origin and destination in ensuring mutual benefits through labor migration and strategies moving forward related to migration and development in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. 

Reports
June 2022

The pandemic and its economic fallout have created a perfect storm for immigrant integration, challenging the well-being and livelihoods of many migrants and refugees in Europe and North America while upending governments’ usual policy toolbox. This report looks at how policymakers and civil society have innovated, and what lessons can be gleaned to strengthen immigrant integration governance going forward.

Articles

Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 displaced millions, the United States was home to nearly 355,000 Ukrainians. While most displaced Ukrainians have remained in neighboring countries, small numbers have come to the United States. This article examines the pre-invasion Ukrainian immigrant population in the United States—its history, sociodemographic characteristics, modes of arrival, and more.

Reports
June 2022

The number of people who work from home or another location other than a traditional office has been growing for decades, but the pandemic has accelerated this shift—with important implications for immigration policy. This report examines trends in remote work, challenges digital nomads and employers face when navigating immigration systems, and opportunities to adapt immigration policies to keep pace with changes in the world of work.

Video, Webinars
June 7, 2022

The presidents of Colombia and Ecuador speak at this high-level event held on the sidelines of the Ninth Summit of the Americas, focusing on the critical need for succcessful integration of Venezuelans in the Americas.

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