Immigration is ‘taking pressure off’ the job market and U.S. economy, expert says "It's a net benefit!"
PUBLISHED SAT, MAR 2 20249:00 AM EST

Foreign-born workers made up 18.6% of the civilian labor force in 2023, up from 15.3% in 2006, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
While immigration poses some challenges, it’s a net benefit to the U.S. economy, economists say.
Without foreign-born labor, the U.S. labor pool would shrink because of lower birth rates and an aging workforce, making it harder to finance programs such as Social Security.

The share of immigrants in the U.S. labor force has steadily increased for more than a decade, and that growth is poised to continue — a trend economists say benefits the American workforce and economy.

In 2006, 15.3% of the civilian labor force was made up of “foreign-born” workers, or those born outside the U.S., according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That share hit a record 18.6% in 2023.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the increase in foreign-born workers is “taking pressure off the economy.”

“In fact, it’s probably one reason why the economy grew so strongly last year,” he said.

U.S. gross domestic product, a measure of economic output, grew by 2.5% in 2023, beating expectations and increasing from 1.9% in 2022.