Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration during his tenure as president — coupled with the impact of the COVID pandemic — has left the US economy in dire need of workers, which economists say is a major drag on growth.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has estimated the economy is short of a staggering 3.5 million workers, and economists estimate half of those workers would typically be migrants allowed into the country, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
“There’s no question: we need more immigration,” Adam Ozimek, chief economist at the Economic Innovation Group, a non-partisan public policy organization, told the Post.
“Immigrants are not just workers, they are highly flexible, mobile workers who help fill acute labor shortages wherever they arise,” he added. “And that’s especially important in this constrained economy that we’re facing right now.”
During his 2016 presidential campaign and tenure, Trump typically referred to immigrants as a detriment to the nation and specifically labeled Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and criminals. As president, he complained about migrants coming from “shithole” nations.
However, according to data, immigrants are of tremendous value in economies. They provide a flexible workforce and are often willing to take jobs Americans refuse, such as low-paying, physically demanding jobs in hospitality, agriculture, construction and healthcare.
Labor shortages can lead to higher prices as employers raise wages to lure workers into jobs.
Immigration has “recovered somewhat” in the last six months, the Post noted, but major shortages remain while the nation also grapples with worker losses due to retirements and health problems, the newspaper reported.
The “crisis” had sparked a bipartisan push to increase legal immigration, but the efforts came to nothing, according to the Post.
Giovanni Peri, director of the Global Migration Center at the University of California, Davis, estimates that it could take another four years for the country to close current deficits with more legal immigration. Even then, he told the Post, it won’t be enough to keep up with America’s aging workforce, leaving millions more unfilled.
Read the full Washington Post report here.
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