E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
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

Cover image for A Profile of Low-Income Immigrants in the United States
Fact Sheets
November 2022
A Profile of Low-Income Immigrants in the United States
By  Julia Gelatt, Valerie Lacarte and Joshua Rodriguez
Photo of a preschool teacher reading to students.
Commentaries
November 2022
Apprenticeship Programs Are a Promising Solution to Bring More Multilingual Workers into Early Childhood Field
By  Jacob Hofstetter, Alexis Fintland and Maki Park
Luxury cars in front of a hotel on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah.
Articles
November 10, 2022
Millionaire Migration Rises and Heads to New Destinations
By Elizabeth Shaw
A collage of Ukrainians in Poland.
Articles
November 2, 2022
Living in Limbo: Displaced Ukrainians in Poland
By Tamar Jacoby
A mariachi band performing in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Articles
October 13, 2022
Mexican Immigrants in the United States
By Raquel Rosenbloom and Jeanne Batalova
A man presents cash inside a passport
Articles
October 5, 2022
Rollback of 'Golden Passports' Shows Their Elusive Shine
By Jelena Džankić
Cover image for Diverging Pathways
Policy Briefs
October 2022
Diverging Pathways: Immigrants’ Legal Status and Access to Postsecondary Credentials
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
Image of women and young children from Ukraine arriving at train station in Bucharest
Commentaries
October 2022
Why the European Labor Market Integration of Displaced Ukrainians Is Defying Expectations
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper

Pages

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Reports
October 2020
Navigating the Future of Work: The Role of Immigrant-Origin Workers in the Changing U.S. Economy
By  Julia Gelatt, Jeanne Batalova and Randy Capps
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Fact Sheets
October 2020
Immigrant-Origin Students in U.S. Higher Education: A Data Profile
By  Jeanne Batalova and Miriam Feldblum
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Policy Briefs
October 2020
Will International Migration Governance Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic?
By  Kathleen Newland
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Reports
September 2020
Driving Migrant Inclusion through Social Innovation: Lessons for Cities in a Pandemic
By  Liam Patuzzi
coverthumb_brexit pandemic
Policy Briefs
September 2020
Brexit on the Backburner: Citizens’ Rights and the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in a Pandemic
By  Aliyyah Ahad and Monica Andriescu
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Policy Briefs
September 2020
Inmigrantes venezolanos, crimen y percepciones falsas: Un análisis de los datos en Colombia, Perú y Chile
By  Dany Bahar, Meagan Dooley and Andrew Selee
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Policy Briefs
September 2020
Venezuelan Migration, Crime, and Misperceptions: A Review of Data from Colombia, Peru, and Chile
By  Dany Bahar, Meagan Dooley and Andrew Selee
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Fact Sheets
August 2020
Un perfil regional de los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos en América Latina y el Caribe
By  Diego Chaves-González and Carlos Echeverría-Estrada

Pages

Image of passport page with variety of stamps
Feature
July 21, 2022
Top Statistics on Global Migration and Migrants

Looking for some of the most often-sought information on global migration? This statistics-rich article draws on the most current data sources to offer a primer on international migration, highlighting its types, the size of the migrant population and growth over time, and major sending and receiving countries and regions. Beyond looking at labor and humanitarian migrants and international students, the article examines remittances and more.

Image of marchers at Dominican Day parade in New York City
Spotlight
July 7, 2022
Caribbean Immigrants in the United States

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.

Four dancers in traditional Ukrainian dress.
Spotlight
June 22, 2022
Ukrainian Immigrants in the United States

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.

Image of aspiring pastor and DACA recipient speaking at DACA event in Minneapolis
Policy Beat
June 9, 2022
At Its 10th Anniversary, DACA Faces a Tenuous Future Despite Societal Benefits

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program reached its 10th anniversary in June 2022. This article reviews the evidence on DACA’s impacts for Dreamers and the broader society, looks at the increased reliance on similar limited legal statuses to help segments of the unauthorized immigrant population, and examines the legal challenges the program has and is continuing to face.

Instructors teach an African dance class in Miami.
Spotlight
May 11, 2022
Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States

The population of sub-Saharan African immigrants in the United States is relatively small, but it has grown substantially over the last four decades and is likely to continue to increase. This group of 2.1 million people is highly diverse, including individuals with a range of ethnic, linguistic, and other backgrounds, as this article explains.

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FLICKR Eric FischerPassportControl
Audio
December 5, 2019

Turning the Tide: Addressing the Long-Term Challenges of EU Mobility for Sending Countries

Amid debates about the costs and benefits of free movement, this webinar examines evidence from the REMINDER project on different types of East-West mobility. Speakers examine big-picture trends of East-West migration; consider possible policy responses at regional, national, and EU levels to alleviate challenges; and reflect on actions that could be taken under a new European Commission.

EVENT PHOTO 2019.10.29 Latin American Response to Venuzuealan and Nicaraguan Migration Crises
Video, Audio
October 29, 2019

Respuestas latinoamericanas a las crisis migratorias venezolanas y nicaragüenses

Responsables de políticos principales y partes interesadas de América Latina, así como representantes de instituciones internacionales claves, ofrecen sus puntos de vista sobre los desafíos futuros mientras gobiernos latinoamericanos buscan establecer las estrategias para responder a flujos migratorios forzados a gran escala, como los de Venezuela y Nicaragua.

Hairdresserphoto UNHCRFLICKR
Audio
October 23, 2019

Legal Migration Pathways to Europe for Low- and Middle-Skilled Migrants

This event hosted by MPI Europe and the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration featured a discussion on research into legal migration pathways for work and training for low- and middle-skilled migrants.

Felipe Munoz at Migration Policy Institute Event
Video, Audio
September 27, 2019

The Colombian Response to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis: A Dialogue with Colombia’s Migration Czar

Felipe Muñoz, Advisor to the President of Colombia for the Colombian-Venezuelan Border, discusses how Colombia is coping with the influx of Venezuelan migrants, plans for future policy decisions surrounding this migration, and developments in regional and international cooperation.

Andrew Selee and Jason DeParle
Video, Audio
August 20, 2019

Chronicling Migration in the 21st Century Through One Family’s Journey

Marking the launch of New York Times reporter Jason DeParle's book tracing the arc of migration and its impacts through the life of an extended family of Filipino migrants over a three-decade period, from Manila and through Dubai to the Houston area, this conversation with MPI's Andrew Selee and the World Bank's Dilip Ratha explores migration at both a global and very personal level.

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Recent Activity

Expert Q&A, Audio
October 6, 2020

Is Airport COVID-19 Testing Ready for Takeoff?

Austria’s Vienna airport was an early adopter for in-airport COVID-19 tests, with results turned around within a few hours, sparing those with medical certificates from a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Can this serve as a model for restarting business travel and tourism? In this episode of our Moving Beyond Pandemic podcast, we talk to Vienna airport official Peter Kleemann to learn more.

Articles
October 1, 2020

The U.S. Presidential Campaign Cements Political Parties’ Deepening Schism on Immigration

In the United States, Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided on immigration. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have offered sharply diverging policy positions, and the outcome of the election is sure to have profound consequences for the U.S. immigration system. Yet this partisan divide is relatively new. Just two decades ago, the parties were much more united on immigrants’ role in the U.S. economy and society.

Reports
September 2020

Driving Migrant Inclusion through Social Innovation: Lessons for Cities in a Pandemic

Since COVID-19 hit cities across Europe, many have struggled with how to sustain support for migrant inclusion in a time of social-distancing orders and likely budget cuts. This report explores how municipalities and their partners used social innovation to meet the challenges of the 2015–16 spike in arrivals of asylum seekers and migrants, and how those experiences can help localities weather the pandemic and put communities at the center of recovery efforts.

Policy Briefs
September 2020

Brexit on the Backburner: Citizens’ Rights and the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic hit just weeks after the United Kingdom formally left the European Union, delaying plans to implement the withdrawal agreement’s provisions on citizens’ rights. This policy brief assesses the progress countries have made in setting up systems to adjust the status of mobile EU and UK nationals, as well as steps countries can take to make up for lost time.

Articles
September 16, 2020

College-Educated Immigrants in the United States

Nearly 13 million immigrants have a four-year college degree or better. But these highly educated immigrants are not spread evenly throughout the labor market. They make up disproportionate shares of certain jobs, especially in the science and technology fields, accounting for 45 percent of software developers, 42 percent of physical scientists, and 29 percent of physicians. Yet there are signs that the trends of this population might be changing, as this article explores.

Policy Briefs
September 2020

Inmigrantes venezolanos, crimen y percepciones falsas: Un análisis de los datos en Colombia, Perú y Chile

Más de 4 millones de venezolanos han migrado a otros países de América Latina y el Caribe, lo que ha generado preocupación sobre cómo estas llegadas están afectando a las comunidades receptoras. Algunos políticos y expertos han afirmado que la migración está provocando un incremento en la delincuencia, un argumento que este informe examina a través de un análisis detallado de los datos de Chile, Colombia y Perú.

Policy Briefs
September 2020

Venezuelan Migration, Crime, and Misperceptions: A Review of Data from Colombia, Peru, and Chile

More than 4 million Venezuelans have moved to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, raising concerns about how these arrivals are affecting receiving communities. Some politicians and pundits have asserted that migration is leading to an increase in crime—a claim this issue brief finds misplaced based on examination of official data from Chile, Colombia, and Peru.

Articles
September 10, 2020

Gaps in India’s Treatment of Refugees and Vulnerable Internal Migrants Are Exposed by the Pandemic

India has no refugee law and has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, leaving many of its estimated 250,000 recognized refugees in a legal gray area. Meanwhile, more than 450 million internal migrants form the foundation of the country's economy, yet often have trouble accessing government benefits, identity cards, and other services. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought these shared vulnerabilities into stark relief.

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