Obama Administration Says U.S. Needs More Immigrants To Create A Younger Workforce


The Obama administration said the president’s policies are not to blame for the ever increasing number of non-working individuals in America. President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers feel the trend was “inevitable” and caused by an aging United States population. To combat the issue, the president’s advisers suggest allowing more immigrants into the country in order to foster a younger workforce.

President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers also said that little can be done to reverse the unemployment trend outside of opening our borders to more immigrants. The White House report released last week cited labor force participation statistics indicating a low which has not been experienced since the Jimmy Carter administration during the 1970s. In 2007, 65.9 percent of Americans were participating in the workforce. In 2014, that number has decreased to 62.8 percent. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, now is the first time in history that more Americans are living off taxpayer funded government programs than actually earning a paycheck in the workforce.

An excerpt from the Obama administration report relating to the need to allow more immigrant workers into the United States:

“We find that the combination of demographic changes and the drop in labor force participation that would have been expected based on historical business cycle patterns explain most but not all of the recent drop in labor force participation. This implies that other factors, likely including both a continuation of pre-existing trends in labor force participation by certain groups and the unique effects of the Great Recession have also been important. Probably the most significant policy response to the falling labor force participation rates is immigration reform, which would counteract the labor force effects of an aging population and spur economic growth.”

The Labor Force Participation Rate report went on to say, “According to its analysis of the problem, more than half of the drop in the labor force participation rate — 1.6 points of the 3.1 percent decline — is due to an aging population. Because older individuals participate in the labor force at lower rates than younger workers, the aging of the population exerts downward pressure on the overall labor force participation rate.”

Employment opportunities vary widely throughout the country, but in the region of Ohio where I live, high school and college students are eager to work, but unable to find enough businesses hiring due to the sluggish economy. Except for those employed by the local or state government, many residents in this region are working long past traditional retirement age in order to make ends meet.

What do you think about the Obama administration’s take on the low workforce numbers and the need to allow more immigrants into the country in order to “reverse the trend”?

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