If illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans why is unemployment down?

Question

According to http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
unemployment is down over the past few years.

Am I missing the connection? Or do illegal immigrants generate as many jobs as they take away? Or are they not really taking away jobs? Or does unemployment have no correlation with immigration, legal or illegal?

I'm just trying to figure this out. Lemme know what you think.

I am assuming that illegal immigrants are not counted into the unemployment statistics. Those are the employment statistics of US Citizens and permanent residents I believe. And those numbers are down.....

I didnt read carefully enough. In correction to my last statement, illegal immigrants are possible included in the statistics.

In addition the unemployment statistics take into account those without jobs. Not necessarily only those that collect unemployment benefits.

Answer 1

the number of jobs in America is not fixed. By the usual manipulations of the economy, the government controls how many jobs are created.

The effect that illegal immigrants do have on the labor markets is what you'd expect -- they take jobs at wages that no one else will take them at and thus depress wages. Naturally, since most illegal immigrants are poorly educated, those whose wages are depressed the most are those Americans with the poorest educations -- usually from inner city or depressed rural areas and frequently minority.

{Go ahead, make the connection. If legal work doesn't pay enough to attract many inner city workers because illegals are pushing wages down, what do inner city lads do? They've got to have money to spend. Where does it come from if not from work? There ya go -- it comes from either hustling something, illegal work, or crime.}

Illegal immigrants also tend to not pay US taxes on work income. Most third world countries do not have income taxes for poor people -- they can neither read, write, nor afford to pay them anyway and so when they come here, illegal immigrants expect to be able to save or spend every dollar they make. Illegal labor contractors hire them for daily cash and ignore taxes.

Of course, this makes living cheaper for them than it is for American workers [who think that Social Security will pay them in their future retirement] and so they can afford to take less in wages. Not to mention the free emergency health care they get at the ER, and the free food from charities, and the rent subsidies some get because they are poor, and on and on.

Meanwhile, for an illegal immigrant, life in America is much richer than life at home was. Substandard American wages of $50 cash for a day's work compare to real incomes in places like Honduras of $50 a week. It is a huge increase in income for the illegal immigrant.


does this help?

Answer 2

Ok, I admit, I skimmed that, way to much to read. The issue shouldn't be job loss or gain, the issue is legality. The country has laws, those laws need to be obeyed, if they're not obeyed and enforced, then why have the laws at all? Stop turning it into a moral argument, or a job argument, it's irrelevant, the issue is, these people cross the border illegally. They have legal means to get here, that they don't is not my problem. "Is the “native-born” worker, who didn’t get the job, worse off? No, he wouldn’t have gotten the job either way. His labor cost more than the residents were willing and able to pay. He didn’t lose a job since the job was never his to lose." And what about the people who ARE willing to pay that much, but decide to go with someone else because they're cheaper (due to immigrant labor)? Now he IS worse off, because it's more than just "Oh crap, I lost a bid for a contract.", he can't compete at all at that point. So you're wrong, immigrants DO steal jobs, just not always, like in the scenario you described. That still doesn't change the fact that it's ILLEGAL.

Answer 3

Unemployment is at 6% that means there are over 18 million people who had a job and are now not working, there are about 12 million illegal in the country.... A large percent of the earning is sent back to there country to support there familys, so this means we are exporting dollars out of the US ecomenity, the real bad news is just about all of this money is under the table so that money has on benifit to the local coumenuity, other words no tax.... Each person working generates employment of 8 people if your legal, that would be 4 for non-legal, at this rate in therty years half the people in the US will be with out jobs..... The illegal number goes up each years by 12 million so do the math, over 2 billion dollars went out side the US in non-taxable income and the goes up each year by a billion....

Answer 4

What must be understood is that the illegals have been coming here gradually for a long time. They didn't just show up recently. By current estimates illegal immigration is up to 500,000 per year now. That is pretty high. The total number in the country ranges from 6-9 million, in addition to 3 million here legally. Sometimes these numbers are added together as 12 million illegals. That is incorrect.

Answer 5

What unemployment statistics do not show are those people who are no longer eligible for unemployment benefits. To say the unemployment rate is X% is not true. A person who has been drawing benefits and is no longer eligible but has not returned to work is not counted. There are millions of people who are unemployed and seeking work but not inlcuded in these statistics. In many states only a portion of the state is used in the figures. In my state only three of the counties are included in what the state reports as 4 (+/-) % unemployment. Many of our counties have unemployment numbers above the 10% mark. My guess is a great many of the illegal aliens are also unemployed and have no interest in getting real jobs.

Answer 6

We have a booming economy right now and that is why unemployment is down, but make no mistake they are in fact taking jobs away from Americans I see it everyday, and it's not by some greedy employer that only pays them minimum wage or less, it's by there buddy that is running the crew and only hiring the illegals. And they are not the hard working underprivileged that the media portrays, they are lazy and they steal tools and they don't show up on time. That's what I see daily, so go sell your crap somewhere else.

Answer 7

Usually refers to the reported employment, many immigrants working in the rural areas doesn't get on the statistics. Many manufacturing companies and processing plants use a lot of illegal unskilled workers, they keep the wages down and the stock holders happy.
If you check the amount of people that work in the food and hospitality industry they usually hire contractors who gets paid cash and pays under the table. Another interesting fact is that most of the ethnic restaurants that employ immigrants don't even pay unemployment taxes. So like I said is all under the radar, what you see in the government statistics is just a smoke screen .

Answer 8

Unemployment Rate To Me Should Be Zero, In America For Competence.

Answer 9

Supposedly the illegal immigrants are doing the jobs we don't want. Once they get their green cards, watch what happens. Our jobs will be at stake. Think about it. Suddenly 12-20 million illegals who were working for crap pay are eligible for legal employment in the U.S. Employers will see the benefit of hiring these people at minimum wage and firing all the hardworking legal U.S. citizens who are making $15-20 per hour. Unemployment will skyrocket. We'll be forced to take the McJobs just to keep ourselves afloat. We'll lose our homes, vehicles and lifestyles. Call your Senators now.

Answer 10

It is amazing what fear can do to a society. If we look at our own history, there has always been immigrants coming into this society. The Statue of Liberty has always been a shinning beacon to those oppressed throughout the world. It is amazing that people will argue about the lost of jobs, when we have to import foreign workers to do those lower wage jobs, because Younger Americans will not do them. Spoiled is the word that comes to mind. I myself have worked up to three jobs at a time to provide for my family. Opportunity is here for those who have the courage to work hard.