Title: The Benefits of Immigration: Addressing Key Myths | Mercatus Center
Headings: The Benefits of Immigration: Addressing Key Myths
The Benefits of Immigration: Addressing Key Myths
Facts about Immigration
Five Myths and Realities of Immigration

Content: Myth: Immigrants depress wages and take jobs from Americans. Reality: There is no evidence that immigrants cause higher unemployment among Americans or depress average wages. Immigrants typically complement American workers rather than compete directly with them for jobs. As immigrants supply labor, they also increase demand for housing and other goods and services, creating employment opportunities for native-born workers. This is why, over time, there is no correlation between immigration and the general unemployment rate. In fact, the number of jobs and the size of the workforce tend to grow together. For those same reasons, empirical studies have found that immigration has only a small and generally positive impact on average wages. A study cited in the 2017 National Academy of Sciences report on the economic consequences of immigration found that the only native demographic group negatively impacted is adults without a high school diploma.