More answers like this
Grok 4.5Oct 20, 2026x-ai/grok-4.5-20260708
Will stopping immigration cause labor shortages?
Yes, sharply reducing or stopping immigration is likely to cause or worsen labor shortages in many sectors and constrain overall labor force growth, particularly in aging economies like the US and much of Europe. This is supported by demographic trends, sector-specific data, recent empirical evidence from immigration slowdowns, and economic research. Immigrants are not simply substitutes for native workers; they often complement them, fill roles natives are less willing or able to take, boost demand, and support broader economic activity.
Citations (57)
- https://vreme.com/en/svet/evropa-i-sad-kubure-sa-radnom-snagom-ali-migrante-nece/
- https://www.fragomen.com/insights/demographics-ai-and-global-mobility-in-2026-a-global-outlook-on-workforce-strategy-and-immigration-policy.html
- https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/immigrants-do-not-take-americans-jobs-wages/
- https://www.nber.org/papers/w26536.pdf
- https://doi.org/10.3386/w4345
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2026/02/22/new-research-finds-reducing-immigration-does-not-help-us-workers/
- https://cer.econ.columbia.edu/news/numbers-vs-news-how-immigration-shapes-labor-markets
- https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/10/19/how-ice-crackdowns-tighten-the-construction-labor-market
- https://equitablegrowth.org/economic-research-shows-immigration-is-good-for-u-s-workers-the-economy-and-affordability/
- https://mmr2025.mixedmigration.org/mmr/2025/labour-shortages-and-anti-immigration-stances/
- https://cepr.org/publications/dp21301
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2024/04/08/us-job-numbers-show-immigration-opponents-wrong-about-the-economy/
- https://economics.princeton.edu/working-papers/the-effects-of-immigration-on-the-economy-lessons-from-the-1920s-border-closure/
- https://www.lse.ac.uk/CFM/assets/pdf/CFM-Discussion-Papers-2026/CFMDP2026-04-Paper.pdf
- https://theprint.in/feature/us-is-facing-shortage-of-skilled-workers/3071619/
- https://www.csmonitor.com/text_edition/USA/2026/1015/skilled-workers-visas-vance
- https://economy.ac/review/2026/08/202608289752
- https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/30/11/2017/economic-effects-restricting-immigration-%E2%80%93-lessons-us-history
- https://www.business-standard.com/amp/immigration/immigration-fall-from-2-million-to-515-000-may-shrink-us-labour-force-fed-125112000258_1.html
- https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2024/11/immigration-worker-wages-myth-jobs/680523/
- https://ctmirror.org/2026/10/08/aging-workforce-immigration-crackdown-are-depleting-skilled-workers/
- https://pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/09/30/how-u-s-immigration-laws-and-rules-have-changed-through-history
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lig2GBuce90
- https://www.frbsf.org/wp-content/uploads/el2026-05.pdf
- https://cis.org/Report/There-No-Labor-Shortage
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2024/05/01/immigrants-raise-wages-and-boost-employment-of-us-born-workers/
- https://www.cato.org/cato-journal/fall-2017/how-immigration-affects-workers-two-wrong-models-right-one
- https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/history-check-how-barring-immigrants-backfired-in-1880s-america
- https://documentedny.com/2026/10/09/immigration-crackdown-labor-shortage/
- https://econofact.org/?p=10788
- https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/21819/concepts/lump-of-labour-fallacy-immigration/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5794227/
- https://www.nber.org/papers/w35901
- https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-labor-market-impact-of-deportations/
- https://www.firstpost.com/world/united-states/us-needs-1-7-million-skilled-workers-a-year-but-trumps-immigration-crackdown-adds-to-labour-woes-14052891.html
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/14/labor-shortages-immigration-schedule-a/
- https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-migrant-halt-may-wipe-potential-job-growth-2025-06-24/
- https://www.piie.com/sites/default/files/2026-07/wp26-11.pdf
- https://www.frbsf.org/research-and-insights/publications/working-papers/2026/10/impacts-unauthorized-immigration-us-labor-housing-markets-new-evidence-administrative-microdata/
- https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20250049
- https://www.axios.com/2026/05/29/immigration-population-growth-employment
- https://www.wsj.com/economy/business-immigrant-low-skilled-labor-addiction-bf009a83
- https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-global-race-for-talent/
- https://www.kansascityfed.org/Research%20Working%20Papers/documents/9135/rwp22-12cohenbiddle.pdf
- https://americancompass.org/open-borders-economists-have-gone-awfully-quiet-about-wages/
- https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20200807
- https://www.nber.org/papers/w32389
- https://www.livemint.com/global/how-a-historic-immigration-drop-is-changing-the-job-market-11756089136179.html
- https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/help-wanted-charting-the-challenge-of-tight-labor-markets-in-advanced-economies
- https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/pierre-poilievre-says-the-temporary-foreign-worker-program-is-stealing-jobs-from-canadians-we-fact/article_2acd0ba2-dfa2-45b2-bf80-96b59a7ffbbb.html
- https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/economy/spotlight/us-immigration-impact-us-economy.html
- https://doi.org/10.3386/w32389
- https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/opinion/trump-immigration-myth.html
- https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/28/are-immigrants-taking-jobs-from-us-workers-heres-what-economists-say.html
- https://www.cgdev.org/blog/border-situation-us-symptom-not-illness-labor-shortages-most-developed-countries-will-continue
- https://www.wsj.com/economy/immigration-workers-labor-market-b277548f
- https://news.bloomberglaw.com/immigration/immigration-crackdown-fails-to-deliver-jobs-for-us-born-workers