March 23, 2026 — Immigration is perhaps the most incendiary issue these days, especially in the US. Is immigration bad for the economy, as many people apparently believe?
- Jobs
Its opponents worry that immigrants compete with US citizens for jobs, housing, and so forth. What that instinct misses is that those coming from abroad add to the supply side of the equation at the same time that they add to demand. Take housing. Lots of immigrants work in construction. They make up about one third of workers in the construction trades (32.5%), and more in the trades most relevant for home building, such as plasterers and stucco masons (61%), drywall/ceiling tile installers (61%), roofers (52%), painters (51%), carpet/floor/tile installers (45%). Hence, they contribute to the supply of housing more than to demand, relative to the rest of the population.