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

Employment & the Economy

Competitiveness
Recession & Employment
Fiscal Impacts
Labor Market Impacts
Recruitment
Sectoral Employment
Skills
Temporary Workers
_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

Nigerian Ministry of interior launched IOM’s Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) in Abuja airport.
Multimedia
May 10, 2022
The State of Global Human Mobility More than Two Years into the Pandemic
Instructors teach an African dance class in Miami.
Articles
May 11, 2022
Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States
By Jane Lorenzi and Jeanne Batalova
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
The Ukrainian Conflict Could Be a Tipping Point for Refugee Protection
By  Meghan Benton and Andrew Selee
Cover image for COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2021
Reports
May 2022
COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2021
By  Meghan Benton, Samuel Davidoff-Gore, Jeanne Batalova, Lawrence Huang and Jie Zong
People in France rally for far-right politician Marine Le Pen on May Day.
Articles
May 5, 2022
France Reckons with Immigration Amid Reality of Rising Far Right
By Ekrame Boubtane
Report cover, From Fear to Solidarity
Reports
May 2022
From Fear to Solidarity: The Difficulty in Shifting Public Narratives about Refugees
By  Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Emergency department. Centre Hospitalier de la Région d'Annecy (CHRA)
Multimedia
April 28, 2022
How Can Europe Address Its Labor Market Needs at a Time of Upheaval?
Help Wanted sign offers employment in a restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland
Multimedia
April 20, 2022
With Millions of Unfilled U.S. Jobs, What Role Is There for Immigration?

Pages

Coverthumb TCM Competitiveness Australia
Reports
May 2019
The Evolution of the Australian System for Selecting Economic Immigrants
By  Anna Boucher and Amy Davidson
Coverthumb MPI Noncitizens Military
Policy Briefs
May 2019
Noncitizens in the U.S. Military: Navigating National Security Concerns and Recruitment Needs
By  Muzaffar Chishti, Austin Rose and Stephen Yale-Loehr
Coverthumb HighlySkilledMexicans TX
Fact Sheets
May 2019
A Profile of Highly Skilled Mexican Immigrants in Texas and the United States
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
Coverthumb ImmigrationChangesTrumpAdministration
Reports
May 2019
Immigration-Related Policy Changes in the First Two Years of the Trump Administration
By  Sarah Pierce
Coverthumb MPI ImmigrationIssues2019
Reports
May 2019
Eight Key U.S. Immigration Policy Issues: State of Play and Unanswered Questions
By  Doris Meissner and Julia Gelatt
Coverthumb TCM Competitiveness Canada
Reports
April 2019
The Canadian Express Entry System for Selecting Economic Immigrants: Progress and Persistent Challenges
By  Daniel Hiebert
Coverthumb MPIE SpainMigrationPathways
Reports
April 2019
Spain’s Labor Migration Policies in the Aftermath of Economic Crisis
By  Kate Hooper
Competing Approaches to Selecting Economic Immigrants: Points-Based vs. Demand-Driven Systems
Reports
April 2019
Competing Approaches to Selecting Economic Immigrants: Points-Based vs. Demand-Driven Systems
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Kate Hooper

Pages

Refugees prepare to be resettled in the United Kingdom.
Profile
August 19, 2021
United Kingdom’s Decades-Long Immigration Shift Interrupted by Brexit and the Pandemic

The United Kingdom was once a country primarily of emigration, but in recent decades many more migrants have arrived at its borders than have left. This decades-long transition was interrupted by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, and this article describes the inflection point at which the country finds itself.

Spotlight
August 11, 2021
Central American Immigrants in the United States

The number of Central American immigrants in the United States has grown dramatically, amid political corruption, violence, and natural disasters in their native countries. But recent images of Central Americans arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border do not tell the whole story, with more than half the population arriving in 2000 or earlier. This article offers key data on the 3.8 million Central American immigrants in the United States.

The flags of the United States and Canada.
Spotlight
June 15, 2021
Canadian Immigrants in the United States

The United States and Canada share the world's longest land border and similar cultures. But Canadians account for a tiny and shrinking share of all U.S. immigrants. Canadian immigrants tend to have higher educations and be older than other immigrant groups. This Spotlight explores the history and features of the Canadian immigrant population in the United States.

Flags of the European Union fly outside of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Feature
June 3, 2021
Borderless Europe: Seven Decades of Free Movement

Between Brexit and COVID-19, Europe’s 31-country zone of free movement has been profoundly tested. Still, the area has constantly evolved over the last 70 years, to include new groups of individuals who can freely move for work, study, or leisure, as well as cover larger geographic areas. This article examines the history and challenges to free movement, a crowning success of the European project.

Two men talk during a retiree luncheon
Policy Beat
May 26, 2021
Slowing U.S. Population Growth Could Prompt New Pressure for Immigration Reform

Results from the 2020 census show that the U.S. population has been growing at its slowest rate since the Great Depression. Reduced immigration has been one component of this sluggish population growth, which could pose a problem for the United States as people age and strain public retirement systems. This U.S. Policy Beat article examines how immigration fits into the country's demographic puzzle.

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flickr NATO Secretary General joins world leaders at UN General Assembly in New York 37197862271_ac3016b5db_z
Video, Audio
September 12, 2018

Making the Global Compact on Migration a Reality: Ideas for Enhancing Regular Migration Pathways at All Skill Levels

As the final phase of preparations for the historic adoption of a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration approaches, this webinar explores two central objectives of the compact: enhancing the availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration, and investing in skills development.

EVENT PHOTO 2018.9.5 CORCHADO event
Video
September 5, 2018

Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration

A book discussion with author and veteran journalist Alfredo Corchado, MPI President Andrew Selee, and other experts on the nature of U.S.-Mexico immigration and the role of Mexican immigrants in the United States.

Event PH 2018.6.5 Andrew Selee
Video, Audio
June 5, 2018

Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together

Marking the release of MPI President Andrew Selee's latest book, speakers explore emerging trends in migration, economic interdependence, technology innovation, and cultural exchange that are transforming the relationship between the United States and Mexico, and the policy implications

FLICKR A LONG HUG HELLO 3125111043_537381b9db_z
Video, Audio
April 10, 2018

Family Immigration Policy and Trends: How the United States Compares to Other Countries

How does U.S. policy on family migration compare to that of other significant immigrant-receiving countries? MPI experts discuss the trends and policies for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

EVENT PHOTO 2018.3.19 Immigration Data option 2a
Video, Audio
March 19, 2018

Immigration Data Matters: How to Find the Most Accurate Resources

With immigration increasingly visible in the news and the political space in the United States and internationally, getting access to accurate, high-quality data is essential to understand immigration’s demographic effects and impacts on the economy, education and labor systems, and communities. This event marks the release of the Immigration Data Matters guide.

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Recent Activity

Fact Sheets
October 2015

Ten Facts About U.S. Refugee Resettlement

This fact sheet offers some key facts about the U.S. refugee resettlement program, which is the world's largest. It answers key questions such as how refugees fare in the labor market in the United States, how the current refugee admissions ceiling stacks up historically, and the types of screening would-be refugees go through before they are admitted to the United States.

Articles
October 15, 2015

Fifty Years On, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act Continues to Reshape the United States

Signed into law 50 years ago, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 had several unintended consequences that have had a profound effect on the flow of immigrants to the United States and contributed to the transformation of the U.S. demographic profile. This Policy Beat explores the law's lasting impact and lessons for policymaking today.

Articles
October 1, 2015

Green-Card Holders and Legal Immigration to the United States

The annual inflow of new lawful permanent residents (LPRs), also known as green-card holders, has ebbed and flowed with changes in U.S. immigration policy and processing backlogs. This data Spotlight delves into legal immigration in the United States, covering class of admission, country of origin, destination states, and more.

Video, Audio, Webinars
September 28, 2015

Overcoming WIOA’s Barriers to Immigrant and Refugee Adult Learners

This webinar examines the implementation at state and local levels of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and how it may limit immigrant integration, along with a discussion on strategies that may help ensure more equitable access to services.  

Audio
September 24, 2015

A Discussion on the Effects of Asian Labor Migration on the Health of Left-Behind Children

This discussion, at the Bangkok launch of an MPI-International Organization for Migration issue brief, explores the social and health impacts of international labor migration on the children who remain at home when one or both their parents emigrate.

Policy Briefs
September 2015

Promoting the Health of Left-Behind Children of Asian Labour Migrants: Evidence for Policy and Action

International labor migration has become vital to economic development in Asian countries, but for children and families left behind, it can also at times create a negative influence on health, break down family and social cohesion, and increase the burden on health systems, as this MPI-IOM issue brief explores.

Video, Audio
September 16, 2015

What's New in Farm Labor? Immigration and the Agricultural Sector

An expert discussion on the findings of the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) related to immigrants, along with an overview of farm labor in 2015 and discussion on how current and possible future immigration policies might impact immigrant workers in the agricultural sector.

Articles
September 10, 2015

Embracing Emigration: The Migration-Development Nexus in Albania

From ongoing emigration flows and a surge in asylum seekers, to more than 150,000 returnees, this country profile examines contemporary and historical migration trends in Albania. Driven by extreme poverty and unemployment, more than one-third of Albania's population has emigrated in the last 25 years. The government now seeks to capitalize on diaspora resources by linking migration and development policies.

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