Workforce availability is the extent to which a labor force is present and ready to engage in employment within a region. The size of the labor force, skills, qualifications, demographic trends, and regional economic conditions impact this issue.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), approximately 31.1 million foreign-born workers made up 18.6% of the civilian labor force in 2023. The number of foreign-born workers has steadily grown for over a decade and is expected to continue growing.
What is the Impact of Immigration Policies on Workforce Availability?
Positive Impact of Immigration Policies on Workforce Availability
Immigration policies are benefitting the American workforce and economy:
- A growing labor force signals a healthy economy.
- More workers generate more goods and services.
- A large number of people earning paychecks increases consumer spending.
- More people paying income tax boosts tax revenues to support Social Security, Medicare, and other social programs.
- US gross domestic product, which measures economic output, exceeded expectations by growing 2.5% in 2023.
Need for Immigration to Support the US Workforce
Immigrants are essential for labor force growth:
- Baby boomers are aging out of the workforce.
- Native-born US households are having fewer children.
- The US population and workforce are shrinking.
- The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts US deaths will exceed births starting in 2040.
- Social programs require more tax revenue to support retiring seniors.
Workforce Benefits of Immigration
Immigrants in the US workforce provide diverse benefits:
- The CBO estimates the US labor force will increase by 5.2 million people from 2023 to 2034 largely due to an immigration surge from 2022 to 2026.
- CBO projections anticipate approximately 91% of immigrants age 16 or older who arrive in the U.S. from 2022 to 2024 will be under age 55.
- Because immigrant workers tend to be younger, they counterbalance the US seniors aging out of the workforce.
- Due to immigration, gross domestic product (GDP) will be approximately $7 trillion higher and revenues $1 trillion larger than they otherwise would be.
- More workers mean more output, income, and revenue.
Immigration and Job Creation
Immigrants typically start businesses at a faster rate than the US population. As a result, immigration tends to create jobs and expand the labor demand. This factor positively impacts the US workforce.
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