Dr. Steven A. Camarata released a report, “Immigration vs. Teen Employment” at www.cis.org.

“The summer of 2010 is shaping up to be worst summer ever for the employment of U.S.-born teenagers (16 to 19 years old). But even before the current recession, the share of U.S.-born teens in the labor force – working or looking for work – was declining. A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies finds that competition with immigrants (legal and illegal) explains a significant share of this decline. The fall in teen employment is worrisome because a large body of research shows that those who do not hold jobs as teenagers often fail to develop the work habits necessary to function in the labor market, creating significant negative consequences for them later in life.”

The report, 'A Drought of Summer Jobs: Immigration and the Long-Term Decline in Employment Among U.S.-Born Teenagers.' Among the findings:

Camarata reported, “The primary reason to be concerned about the decline in teenage employment is that research shows consistently that it is as a young person that workers develop the skills and habits necessary to function in the labor market. Poor work habits and weak labor force attachment developed as a teenager can follow a person throughout life. As a result, those who do not work as teenagers earn less and work less often later in life than those who were employed in their teenage years, especially those who do not go on to college.

“Businesses have repeatedly argued that there are not enough seasonal workers. If seasonal workers were truly in short supply, the share of teenagers in the labor force would have increased significantly, not fallen dramatically. There is good evidence that immigration accounts for a significant share of the decline in teenage summer labor force participation. In many of the occupations where teenage employment declined the most, immigrants made significant job gains. Comparisons across states in 2007 show a strong relationship between the growth in the immigrant population and the decline in teenage employment. The finding that immigration is reducing labor force participation of teenagers parallels the conclusion of newly published working paper from the Washington, D.C., Federal Reserve, 'The Impact of Low-Skilled Immigration on the Youth Labor Market.'

“The decision to allow in large numbers of legal immigrants (temporary and permanent) and to tolerate large-scale illegal immigration and to turn away from employing U.S.-born teenagers may be seen as desirable by some businesses. However, this policy choice may have significant long-term consequences for American workers as they enter adulthood. The potential impact of continued large-scale immigration on teenagers is something that should be considered when formulating immigration policy in the future.”

The report can be found online at: http://cis.org/teen-unemployment

I highly recommend any reader concerned with all aspects of legal and illegal immigration to refer to www.cis.org. Additionally, each autumn, this journalist attends conferences with Dr. Camarata and Mark Krikorian.  You will find excellent reading with Krikorian’s new book: The New Case Against Immigration: Both Legal and Illegal.

# # #

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution which examines the impact of immigration on the United States.

Contact: Dr. Steven A. Camarota, sac@cis.org