Amid Rising Inflation, Immigrant Workers Help Ease Labor Shortages

Using employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, data on job openings from Burning Glass, and data from the American Community Survey, this study explores how immigration can help meet labor demands, reduce inflation, and steer the American economy back to a sustainable growth path. Relying on data visualization approaches, the study examines job openings in major industries in the U.S., along with the immigrant share of workers in those industries. Occupations that grew the most between 2019 and 2021 were those with large shares of immigrants, including healthcare, transportation, food preparation, construction, and manufacturing and production.  Future job growth patterns, however, may be quite different than those in the recent past. For example, demand for healthcare support workers is projected to rise substantially as baby boomers age. The study suggests that rising wage rates in industries with worker shortages will likely worsen inflation rates in the U.S.  The study concludes with an interactive tool that provides information for each occupational grouping, showing how the pandemic, the aging of the existing workforce, and other projected labor exits are expected to impact the U.S. labor force, as well as the projected role of immigrants in plugging gaps in the U.S. workforce.

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