A Pew report today confirms what every economist has said: immigration doesn’t affect unemployment rates. The report doesn’t get into the effect of immigration on wages levels (which I discussed here) but I’d be willing to bet that their conclusion on immigration’s relationship to the unemployment rate also applies to wage levels:
The Pew Hispanic Center analyzed immigration state by state using U.S. Census data, evaluating it against unemployment levels. No clear correlation between the two could be found.Other factors, such as economic growth, have likely played a larger role in influencing the American job market, said Rakesh Kochhar, principal author of the report and an economist at the Pew Hispanic Center in the District. [Emphasis added]
