World population trends and global migration

Ross Douthat in the NY Times writes, “whatever you see happening in Europe now is just the initial stage of the defining world revolution of the 21st century — the rapid graying of rich countries (and soon, not-so-rich ones) joined to the great migrations from the more youthful regions of the world…. the dilemma of the 21st century isn’t how Earth will feed an ever-growing population, but how the world will deal with a potential mass rebalancing of population via migration, an altered wealth-and-people equilibrium, in a world where technology is making the movement of peoples easier than ever.” This … Continue reading World population trends and global migration

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Wealth in America by race / ethnicity: very recent trends

The Federal Reserve reports on the growth and distribution of wealth from 2019 through 2022, drawing from the 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF).  Note the relatively very high wealth of Asian households.  I have found no reliable analysis of why Asians are so wealthy. In the past 10 – 20 years, new Asian immigrants are far better educated that white and other groups in the U.S. which may have translated into higher incomes allowing for housing purchases and equity investments. Two dominant drivers of wealth since the Great Recession are the stock market (Dow Jones 10/2009 was under $14,000, … Continue reading Wealth in America by race / ethnicity: very recent trends

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Foriegn born workers trends, 2010 – 2030

The growth rate of the foreign born employment has recovered from the pandemic and is about 3.5% annually vs. 0.6% annual growth for the U.S. born employment. The percentage of workers who are foreign born, based on these rates, is expected to grow from 16% in 2010 to 23% in 2030: Why? First, the labor force participation rate of foreign born workers is higher at all levels of education: Now, take into account not only first generation but second generation immigrants. Immigrants and their U.S. born children were responsible for 85% of the labor force growth between 2010 in 2018 … Continue reading Foriegn born workers trends, 2010 – 2030

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Are foreign born workers driving down labor force participation?

The Center for Immigration Studies asserts that the decline in labor force participation in the U.S. is in part a result of foreign-born labor, particularly at the lower part of the job market with respect to formal education. CIS Executive Director Camarota says that “Using large-scale illegal immigration to fill jobs may please employers, but it allows policymakers to ignore the decades-long decline in labor force participation that contributes to profound social problems, from crime and drug overdoses, to welfare dependency and suicide.” Here is a summary of the participation rate experiences of the U.S. and six other advanced countries. … Continue reading Are foreign born workers driving down labor force participation?

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growth in interracial marriage, 1980 vs 2021

From Pew Resarch: In 2020, 11% of all married couples in the U.S. were interracial or interethnic, according to Pew Research Center analysis. This is up from 3% in 1967 when the Supreme Court struck down bans on interracial marriage. The most common interracial marriage pairing is one Hispanic and one white spouse at 42%. Census data collection changes between 2010 and 2020resulted in a tripling of persons who self-described a multi-racial, mainly involving this demographic. Next is one white and one Asian spouse at 15%, then one white and one black spouse at 12%. Interracial couples have increased across … Continue reading growth in interracial marriage, 1980 vs 2021

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Rise of the college educated foreign born workforce

This post summarizes a lot of demographic data on foreign-born persons and their educational attainment. The overall trend in most demographic data shows that our immigrant populations is gradually aligning with the U.S. born population in economic and social characteristics. Let’s see how that happens or doesn’t happen with regard to education among workers. Prime working age (25-54) increasingly foreign-born. The U.S. born workforce declined 2005 – 2022 from 82.6 million to 81.1 million, while the foreign born workforce for these age group increased 28% from 16 million to 20.6 million. The percentage of prime working age worker who are … Continue reading Rise of the college educated foreign born workforce

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National nursing shortage – contraints on producing more domestically

The average RN annual salary in the median state (for nursing salaries) today is $81,000. The median salary (combining all sorts of 3 million nurses) nationwide is $77,600. (Go here and here.) There is a national nursing shortage….to frame an effective strategy to bring in immigrant nurses, we first have to streamline nursing education and placement.  (The same problem exists with STEM workers: the domestic pipeline needs to be improved.) Here is a quick assessment of the issue in one state, Massachusetts, drawn from an editorial in the Boston Globe: The Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association estimates that hospitals have … Continue reading National nursing shortage – contraints on producing more domestically

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How do immigrant families get child care?

Immigrant communities rely for child care more on “family, friend and neighbor” ((FFN) than on licensed day care centers. This means that public programs to support child care, which are typically focused on licensed centers, missing much of the immigrant community. A Migration Policy Institute study estimates that the majority of FFN caregivers have not received training or support, pointing to an acute need to expand services that are successfully reaching these caregivers. Spanish-speaking caregivers were considerably less likely to receive any kind of support than their English-speaking peers. Other observations in the study: One in four young children ages … Continue reading How do immigrant families get child care?

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1st and 2nd Gen immigrant workers — 33% of all workers by 2030??

The Migration Policy Institute has issued a report on future job trends and the role of first and second generation workers. The report’s analysis is rather dense, but here are some take aways. It classifies jobs as growing “jobs of the future”, declining, and mixed.  Jobs of the future have more educational requirement, such as management and healthcare professions, for which first and second generation Asian and Black African immigrants are well positioned.  (The report inexplicably leaves out information technology jobs.) the share of the workforce which is first and second generation was 25% in 2010 and 28% in 2018. … Continue reading 1st and 2nd Gen immigrant workers — 33% of all workers by 2030??

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Central American immigrants in the US

2.1 million persons born in Central America reside in the US, Including 1.4 million El Salvadoreans, 1.1 million Guatemalans, 800,000 Hondurans, and 300,000 Nicaraguans. These four are worse off than Mexicans in the U.S., much worse off than two other Central American immigrants from Costa Ricans and Panamanians. They have collectively been more numerous than Mexicans at the Mexican border, despite these four countries having a combined population one third of Mexico. The Biden administration will open an immigration processing centers in Guatemala within a few weeks. The administration has proposed additional economic aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. … Continue reading Central American immigrants in the US

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