Study concludes that US immigration boosts wages
March 15 2010 by Liam Clifford
A study carried out by an economist at the University of California has concluded that US immigration boosts wages for US workers.
Giovanna Peri’s National Bureau
of Economic Research working paper, has discovered that foreigners working in
the US have increased the wages paid to American workers. The data shows that
for each percentage of the workforce that is made up of US work visa holders,
the average wage increases by 0.5 per cent. US immigration advocates are likely
to welcome these figures as evidence that immigration benefits all workers and
the economy as a whole.
Peri’s research saw him trawling through almost
50 years of immigration data. In California, he noted that the percentage of
immigrant workers has increased by 25 per cent since 1960. As a result, wages
increased by 13 per cent on wages elsewhere. Peri explained that hiring US visa
holders pushes US workers into higher achieving positions, with higher pay.
Peri says that the proposed US immigration reforms, that will enable
more immigrants living in the US to work legally, are essential. Without such
measures Peri says the country is, “essentially giving up on gains."
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