Encuentros y Desencuentros
Especial sobre la migración internacional
"Los de afuera": Migración internacional, exclusión social y transformaciones culturales
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Artículo (inglés)
El impacto de la inmigración en el crecimiento económico de los países desarrollados Alex Julca, Ph.D.
The role of the geographical area where economic growth occurs is also important. For example, data for the restaurant industry in New York City (part of the hospitality sector) indicate that foreign labour represents 65% of the total labour force, above the average of 44% for all economic activities in the City, and much higher than the national average of 20%. Similarly, about 95 per cent of the taxi drivers in New York City are immigrants. These examples raise questions on whether the economy of NYC would be able to run smoothly without the daily basic services that immigrant labour delivers. In addition, the functioning of some of these activities have links and spillover effects on other key activities of the City, such as the tourist industry and the like (e.g. hospitality, museum visits). Thus the hotel industry also relies heavily on immigrant labour for its daily service.
Impacts of immigration on the economic growth of developed countries
The importance of immigrants in the labour force of developed countries has increased steadily. The share of immigrants in the labour force of the United States grew from 2.6 per cent in 1970 to 14.5 per cent in 2004. Similarly, for some European countries the share of immigrant labour reached significant levels by 2001, as for Austria (11%), Germany (9.1%), France (6.2%), and Belgium (9.1%). Likewise, data for 2000-2001 indicate that the labour force participation rate of immigrants (men in particular) has been higher than of natives in the United States and some core European countries.
However, national averages of foreign labour participation might still mask the actual contribution of immigrants to economic growth in destination countries. At the sectoral level, immigrants (skilled and unskilled), being traditionally a significant share in the agricultural sector and manufacturing industry, have also gained employment in the services sector -- following the structural change of the global economy for the past three decades. Indeed, no less than 65% of employment in developed countries is created in the services sector, whereas similar trend is present in some of the most dynamic Asian countries.
While the annual average GDP growth rate for the United States was 2.1 per cent during the period 1990-2000, the services sector grew about 4 per cent and manufacturing by just 1.9 per cent. Accordingly, when employment for this country grew by 1.6 per cent, employment in the services sector grew by 2 per cent, while employment in the industrial sector (mining and manufacturing) grew by only 0.54 per cent. For 2004, table 1 shows occupations where foreign labour represented 10 per cent or more of the entire United States workforce, most of which can be included in the services sector. Occupations where foreign labour share was higher than of natives were in computer and mathematical science, construction, building maintenance, food preparation and serving related. A 10 per cent share in management occupations indicates that immigrant labour has strengthened its share in skilled occupations. Yet, while the importance of agriculture and manufacturing industry as sources of growth and job creation have declined relative to the non-tradable sector, the agricultural sector (comprising farming, fishing and forestry) and craft & production occupations have continued to be a job niche for foreign labour, representing 39 per cent and 23 percent respectively of the United States workforce.
In Australia , Canada , European Monetary Union countries, and Japan similar patterns follow, with immigrant employment concentrated in industry and services sectors. Even so, for countries such as Spain , Netherlands , France , Germany , and Italy the importance of immigrant labour in agriculture has been rising. Table 2 reveals the proportion of immigrants employed by main economic sectors for the period 2000-2001 in main countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). To be sure, employment of immigrant labour has been significant in the industrial sector for some countries, particularly in Japan , Germany , Austria , Belgium , and Netherlands . Nonetheless, the bulk of immigrant employment has resided in the largely diverse non-tradable industries, including construction, wholesale & retail trade, hospitality, education; health & other community services, households, and the undefined "other services".
The role of the geographical area where economic growth occurs is also important. For example, data for the restaurant industry in New York City (part of the hospitality sector) indicate that foreign labour represents 65% of the total labour force, above the average of 44% for all economic activities in the City, and much higher than the national average of 20%. Similarly, about 95 per cent of the taxi drivers in New York City are immigrants. These examples raise questions on whether the economy of NYC would be able to run smoothly without the daily basic services that immigrant labour delivers. In addition, the functioning of some of these activities have links and spillover effects on other key activities of the City, such as the tourist industry and the like (e.g. hospitality, museum visits). Thus the hotel industry also relies heavily on immigrant labour for its daily service.
More importantly, activities with the highest growth in personal income and employment during 1990-2000 in the fastest growing cities located in central and southern states of the United States (Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee), have significantly relied on the labour force of new settlements of Latino immigrants, documented and undocumented. Employment growth in occupations such as construction (2.7%), transportation and public utilities (2.3%); finance, insurance and real estate (2.1%); and business services (5.1%) had a strong Latino labour component relative to other groups.
The aforementioned figures, however, still under-represent the actual contribution of immigrants to economic growth in developed countries. During the 1990s a global surge of undocumented labour migration and its employment in agriculture, manufacturing and services have been a salient feature in the labour market. For the past five years it is estimated that the annual flows of undocumented immigration to the United States has been higher than regular migration flows. For example, some manufacturing and service activities employing a sizable proportion of unskilled labour have been increasingly relying on undocumented migrants for productivity growth and keep afloat. Undocumented immigrants are subject to accept long working hours, high-intensity of work, low wages, and insecure work conditions. Estimations for the United States and the European Monetary Union indicate that undocumented migration - many of them unskilled -- has swollen during the 1990s.
Moreover, with variations from country to country, the labour force participation rates of undocumented immigrants tend to be higher than of natives (men in particular), which indicate the demand for these workers in receiving countries. High propensities to send remittances to families at home motivate undocumented immigrants to accept practically any job available. The study by Passel (2006) indicates that on average a third of the labour force in the restaurant industry in New York City is undocumented, higher than the 11% average for the industry at the national level, and much higher than the average of undocumented workers in all industries in the United States (4%).
Conclusions
1. Dynamic economic growth of developed countries has increasingly required international migration to complement domestic labour force and fill the gaps in the labour market. This experience is shared by many developed countries in the post-second world war.
2. Projections for 2025 suggest substantive increase and requirement of foreign labour to sustain current trends of economic growth in the United States and EMU countries. Assumptions: 3% GDP growth for the United States , 2.5% for EMU countries, current labour force growth (adjusted by labour productivity), and a constant employment/output ratio.
3. Immigration policies in developed countries have increasingly been more open towards certain kinds of skilled labour, while restricting unskilled labour. Nonetheless, demand for foreign labour has included unskilled labour. In fact, existent legal restrictions to immigration might have stimulated undocumented migration, which has mainly been concentrated in unskilled occupations.
4. Agriculture and production (craft, repair) occupations are still niches for immigrants, particularly in the United States . Yet, globally it is the growth of the non-tradable sector that has led the demand for immigrant labour (construction, building maintenance, household services, management, ICT, health care, and education).
Table 1: Immigrant share of workforce in main non-tradable occupations, 2004 (%) |
Occupation |
Immigrant share of workforce |
Building cleaning & maintenance |
32.0 |
Construction & extraction |
22.4 |
Food preparation & related |
20.3 |
Computer & mathematical science |
18.8 |
Healthcare support |
17.0 |
Personal care & service |
16.5 |
Transportation & material moving |
16.3 |
Life, physical & social science |
15.5 |
Healthcare practitioner & technical |
13.0 |
Installation, maintenance & repair |
13.0 |
Sales & related |
11.7 |
Arts, design, entertainment sports & media |
11.0 |
Management |
10.0 |
Source : Lowell, Lindsay B. 2005. "The United States ," pp. 211 - 234, |
in Niessen and Schibel (eds.), Immigration as a Labour Market Strategy: |
European and North American Perspectives. Migration Policy Group. |
Table 2: Employment of immigrants by sectors, 2001-2002 average |
Percentage of total foreign employment |
Country |
Agriculture |
Industry |
Services |
|
|
|
|
Austria |
1.1 |
24.5 |
74.4 |
Belgium |
0.9 |
21.4 |
77.7 |
Finland |
- |
15.3 |
84.7 |
France |
3.2 |
17.2 |
79.6 |
Germany |
1.2 |
32.6 |
66.2 |
Greece |
3.2 |
17.9 |
78.9 |
Ireland |
3.2 |
17.2 |
79.6 |
Netherlands |
3.7 |
21.4 |
74.9 |
Spain |
8.6 |
11.2 |
80.2 |
Sweden |
- |
19.3 |
80.7 |
United Kingdom |
- |
12.0 |
88.0 |
Japan |
0.4 |
61.5 |
38.1 |
Australia |
2.0 |
17.5 |
80.5 |
Canada |
1.8 |
19.1 |
79.1 |
Source : Garson, Jean-Pierre (2004). Migration in Europe: |
Trends and Perspectives. Keynote Report. Paris : Organization for Economic |
Cooperation and Development |
IOM - International Organization for Migration (2005). World Migration 2005. Costs and Benefits of International Migration. IOM World Migration Report Series, vol. 3. ISSN 1561-5502; ISBN 92-9068-209-4. Geneva , Switzerland .
Coppel, Jonathan, Jean-Christophe Dumont and Ignazio Visco (2001). Trends in Immigration and Economic Consequences. Economics Department Working Papers No. 284. Paris : Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. June 18.
Garson, Jean-Pierre (2004). Migration in Europe: Trends and Perspectives. Keynote Report. Paris : Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Mitra, Diditi (2005). Driving Taxis in New York City : Who Wants to Do It? The New Urban Immigrant Workforce, Sarumathi Jayaraman and Immanuel Ness, eds. Armonk , New York ; London , England : M.E. Sharpe.
Kochhar, Rakesh, Robert Suro and Sonya Tafoya (2005): The New Latino South: The Context and Consequences of Rapid Population Growth. Pew Hispanic Center Report. Washington DC : Pew Hispanic Center . July 26.
Passel, J. S. (2006): The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S. Estimates Based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey . Research Report. Washington DC : Pew Hispanic Center . March 7.
Le Monde (2005). L'immigration clandestine en Europe. October 15.
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