Employment & the Economy

Competitiveness

Recession & Employment

Fiscal Impacts

Labor Market Impacts

Recruitment

Sectoral Employment

Skills

Temporary Workers

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

Fact Sheets March 2020 Immigrant Workers: Vital to the U.S. COVID-19 Response, Disproportionately Vulnerable By Julia Gelatt	Articles March 26, 2020 Crisis within a Crisis: Immigration in the United States in a Time of COVID-19 By Muzaffar Chishti and Sarah Pierce
Multimedia March 24, 2020 Migration & Coronavirus: A Complicated Nexus Between Migration Management and Public Health	Articles February 20, 2020 Japan’s Labor Migration Reforms: Breaking with the Past? By Deborah J. Milly
Policy Briefs February 2020 Seasonal Worker Programs in Europe: Promising Practices and Ongoing Challenges By Kate Hooper and Camille Le Coz	Articles February 14, 2020 Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States By Jeanne Batalova, Brittany Blizzard, and Jessica Bolter
Reports February 2020 Bienvenidas asimétricas: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe a la migración venezolana y nicaragüense By Andrew Selee and Jessica Bolter	Reports February 2020 An Uneven Welcome: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration By Andrew Selee and Jessica Bolter

Pages

Reports July 2014 Moving Up or Standing Still? Access to Middle-Skilled Work for Newly Arrived Migrants in the European Union By Meghan Benton, Susan Fratzke and Madeleine Sumption	Reports June 2014 Critical Choices in Post-Recession California: Investing in the Educational and Career Success of Immigrant Youth By Sarah Hooker, Margie McHugh and Michael Fix
Reports June 2014 A Work in Progress: Prospects for Upward Mobility Among New Immigrants in Germany By Nadia Granato	Books May 2014 Migration of Health Workers: The WHO Code of Practice and the Global Economic Crisis
Reports May 2014 Moving Up the Ladder? Labor Market Outcomes in the United Kingdom amid Rising Immigration By Tommaso Frattini	Fact Sheets May 2014 Brain Waste in the Workforce: Select U.S. and State Characteristics of College-Educated Native-Born and Immigrant Adults By Margie McHugh, Jeanne Batalova and Madeleine Morawski
Reports May 2014 Slow Motion: The Labor Market Integration of New Immigrants in France By Patrick Simon and Elsa Steichen	Reports April 2014 Catching Up: The Labor Market Outcomes of New Immigrants in Sweden By Pieter Bevelander and Nahikari Irastorza

Pages

Top Ten

December 6, 2016

On the Brink of Demographic Crisis, Governments in East Asia Turn Slowly to Immigration

With many countries in East Asia facing unfavorable demographic shifts in the form of aging populations, low fertility, and shrinking workforces, governments in 2016 continued to explore immigration as a potential policy solution. However, a tradition of cultural homogeneity and wariness among publics about increased immigration is leading policymakers to test the waters with very small steps.

Top Ten

December 5, 2016

While Mobility Comes under Assault in Europe, Other Regions Forge Ahead

In stark contrast to a Europe that is erecting new barriers and reinstituting border controls, other regions around the world are moving toward greater mobility for intraregional travelers and migrants. Regional blocs in South America and Southeast Asia have been working to ease intraregional movements of workers, and the African Union in 2016 launched a new biometric African passport.

Feature

November 3, 2016

Stepping into the Vacuum: State and Cities Act on Immigration, But Do Restrictions Work?

Over the past decade, state and local policymakers have increasingly stepped into the void left by Washington over legislative reform of the immigration system and have enacted their own policies, particularly in regard to illegal immigration. This article explores this trend of increased activism and examines whether restrictive state immigration laws have had an effect on the size of immigrant populations at the state level.

Feature

October 20, 2016

Maid in Hong Kong: Protecting Foreign Domestic Workers

Hong Kong is home to more than 340,000 foreign domestic workers, who can be found in one of every seven households. Despite efforts by the governments of Hong Kong and top sending countries, these workers remain uniquely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. This article examines the conditions foreign domestic workers face, the policies governing their employment, and the challenges in protecting their rights.

Profile

August 31, 2016

The New Reality: Germany Adapts to Its Role as a Major Migrant Magnet

Although long one of the world's top migrant destinations, only in the recent past has Germany come to acknowledge and adjust to its role as a country of immigration. Its welcoming approach—a relatively new development—has been put to the test amid massive humanitarian inflows beginning in 2015. This country profile examines Germany's history on immigration and highlights current and emerging debates.

Pages

Video, Audio

December 2, 2009

Illegal Immigration's Effects on the U.S. Economy and Policy

Illegal immigration's overall impact on the U.S. economy is negligible, despite clear benefits for employers and unauthorized immigrants and slightly depressed wages for low-skilled native workers, according to UCSD Professor of Economics Gordon Hanson.

Video

October 28, 2009

Talent, Competitiveness, and Migration

This book release and discussion focused on the accumulation of talent and its effects on economic growth and migration trends.

Audio

July 30, 2009

The Next Generation of E-Verify: Getting Employer Verification Right

This webinar examines the E-Verify system, offering short- and long-term recommendations for improving gaps in employment verification and addressing an "employer-centric" design that exacerbates existing problems.

Video

July 20, 2009

E-Verify: An Assessment of its Strengths and Weaknesses

This discussion focuses on E-Verify, the federal government's electronic employment verification system, and the release of an MPI report that assesses the program's strengths and weaknesses.

Recent Activity

Fact Sheets

March 2020

Immigrant Workers: Vital to the U.S. COVID-19 Response, Disproportionately Vulnerable

Six million immigrant workers are at the frontlines of keeping U.S. residents healthy and fed during the COVID-19 pandemic, representing disproportionate shares of physicians, home health aides, and retail-store pharmacists, for example. They also are over-represented in sectors most immediately devastated by mass layoffs, yet many will have limited access to safety-net systems and to federal relief, as this fact sheet details.

Articles

March 26, 2020

Crisis within a Crisis: Immigration in the United States in a Time of COVID-19

The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the intersection of U.S. immigration and public health policy, and the unique challenges that immigrants face. This article analyzes the Trump administration’s introduction of some of the most stringent immigration restrictions in modern times, the often disparate fallout of the outbreak on immigrant communities, the status of federal immigration agency operations, and more.

Video, Audio, Webinars

March 24, 2020

Migration & Coronavirus: A Complicated Nexus Between Migration Management and Public Health

This webinar, organized by MPI and the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at The New School, discussed migration policy responses around the globe in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and examined where migration management and enforcement tools may be useful and where they may be ill-suited to advancing public health goals.

Articles

February 20, 2020

Japan’s Labor Migration Reforms: Breaking with the Past?

Japan is hoping to bring in as many as 350,000 medium-skilled foreign workers over five years to fill labor market gaps in its rapidly aging society. Yet does this system of Specified Skilled Workers represent an effort to secure a workforce without making long-term settlement possible? And considering its linkage to a Technical Intern Training Program much criticized for abusive practices, does this change represent real reform? This article examines these and other issues.

Policy Briefs

February 2020

Seasonal Worker Programs in Europe: Promising Practices and Ongoing Challenges

Seasonal worker programs in the European Union have a long history, but have yet to find the sweet spot of working for migrants, employers, and countries of destination and origin alike. This policy brief explores some of the challenges common to these programs—drawing on examples in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand—and highlights promising practices.

Articles

February 14, 2020

Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

Interested in answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about immigration and immigrants in the United States? This incredible resource collects in one place top statistics from authoritative government and nongovernmental sources, offering a snapshot of the immigrant population, visa and enforcement statistics, and data on emerging trends, including the slowing of growth of the foreign-born population, changing origins, and increasing educational levels.

Reports

February 2020

Bienvenidas asimétricas: Respuestas de América Latina y el Caribe a la migración venezolana y nicaragüense

El gran desplazamiento forzado de personas en Venezuela y Nicaragua está transformando el panorama migratorio en gran parte de América Latina y el Caribe. Este informe examina las respuestas de las políticas de inmigración e integración de once países, incluyendo vías de regularización y medidas para integrar a los recién llegados en las escuelas y mercados laborales. Este informe acompaña el lanzamiento de un Portal Sobre Migración que ofrece investigación y análisis actualizados sobre tendencias y políticas de inmigración en la región.

Reports

February 2020

An Uneven Welcome: Latin American and Caribbean Responses to Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration

Large-scale displacement from Venezuela and Nicaragua is reshaping the migration landscape in much of Latin America and the Caribbean. This report, accompanied by the launch of a new Migration Portal offering research and analysis on the region, examines the immigration and integration policy responses of 11 countries, including pathways to legal status and measures to integrate newcomers into schools, health-care systems, and labor markets.

Programs

Topics see all >

Regions see all >

Data

Featured Publication

Programs

You are here

Employment & the Economy

Recent Activity

Pages

Pages

Pages

Pages

Recent Activity

Pages

Immigration Data Matters