Immigration's Impacts on the Long Island Economy

Over the past two decades, immigration has grown rapidly on Long Island. As immigrants have become an increasingly visible presence in the labor force, frequently heated questions have been raised about where these immigrants fit in to the Long Island economy and what have been their effects on U.S.-born workers. Do U.S.-born workers share in a growing economic pie, or do they lose jobs as immigrants gain them? Do wages for U.S.-born workers go up or down? And, when wages change, is it because of immigration or is it due to other factors?  

This report examines Long Island's economic peaks, employment rates and American Community Survey data. It concludes that the Long Island economy has generally absorbed immigrants at the levels at which they have come in recent years with positive benefits to the overall economy and with few negative effects on U.S.-born workers. The areas of concern center on the shrinking number of U.S.-born men who did not attend college.

Based on research from the Fiscal Policy Institute and published by Hofstra University. 

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