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THE VALUE OF IMMIGRANTS
Ms Saeny Arellano, general manager at cafe Patisserie Chanson, said that US-born potential employees may not have the incentive to re-enter the workforce partly because of unemployment benefits that they are entitled to.
“Immigrants don’t have that luxury, so they’re more than willing to jump on board and work those extra hours that you might not have with an employee who is on unemployment,” she said.
Among her employees is Madagascar national Miora Rabeony, who has been living in New York for almost four years.
“I do a little bit of everything, but I focus mainly on the machine on barista. I make drinks for customers, I make lattes, cappuccino, hot chocolate, matcha,” she said.
For businesses like Ms Arellano’s, such employees provide a lifeline. It would have taken twice as long to find local staff after the pandemic otherwise, said Ms Arellano.
INCREASE IN FOREIGN-BORN WORKERS
The number of foreign-born workers in the US has climbed through the years. Twenty years ago, they made up 10 per cent of the workforce. That number has since almost doubled to close to 20 per cent.
Historically, immigrants have played a pivotal role in shaping the country, with New York City built by immigrants.
New York University Professor of Economics Petra Moser said that immigrants have, throughout the history of the US, tried to fill gaps in the workforce.
“If you think about the history of New York, there have been immigrants who have filled all of these very, very labour-intensive positions over time,” she said.
In an effort to get federal money, the mayor of New York Eric Adams has time and again voiced out about the strain on the city’s finances caused by the recent wave of migrants.
Those who oppose immigration also often argue that foreign-born workers take jobs away from Americans.
However, economists like Prof Moser said the reality is quite the opposite.
“If a company has a production line that is missing people in key positions and it cannot fill those positions domestically, then there is a risk that that business will move abroad where they can access labour,” she said.
Three years into the pandemic, there remain 3 million workers considered “missing” from the US labour force.
Retirements are largely to blame for the gap and with many Americans ageing out of the workforce in the coming years, it is likely the proportion of foreign-born workers will only keep rising.
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