July BLS Shows US Workers Harmed by Administration’s Open Borders Agenda

The July Bureau of Labor Statistics report was disappointing across the board. Not only did the unemployment rate rise to 4.3% from 4.1%, the payroll data fell well short of estimates. The economy added only 114,000 jobs versus the predicted 175,000, and the now-common downward monthly adjustments reflect more weakness in the economy than President Joe Biden and presidential candidate Kamala Harris are willing to own up to. May jobs statistics was revised down by 2,000, from +218,000 to +216,000, and June was adjusted negatively by 27,000, from +206,000 to +179,000. With these revisions, employment in May and June combined is 29,000 lower than previously reported. BLS economists have altered five of the past six months to a lower jobs total from their earlier, more positive number. The alarmingly poor report contributed to massive sell offs in the domestic and international markets and, at the same time, raised recession fears.

For Harris and Donald J. Trump, the BLS’ key takeaway is the U-6 statistics. BLS defines U-6 as the “total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force.” The July unemployment rate among the U-6 category is 8.1%, up from June’s 7.7%. The number of people employed part- time for economic reasons rose by 346,000 to 4.6 million in July. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part-time because employers reduced their hours, or they were unable to find full-time jobs. Workers in that group have no health or retirement benefits. Individuals not in the labor force who currently want a job increased in July by 366,000 to 5.6 million. Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force stood at 1.6 million. The soft jobs report also included the month’s under-performing wage statistics. In July, the monthly increase in average hourly earnings rose just 0.2%, below the 0.3% expected and below June’s 0.3%

In all, 11.8 million Americans were either unemployed, under-employed or detached from the labor market, many of them victims of the Biden/Harris open border agenda. Assuming, exclusive of 1.7 million known gotaways, ten million illegal aliens have entered the U.S. since Biden became president, an average of about 2.5 million that crossed each month. Many, including Ukrainians, Afghans, Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians, have received parole, an immigration status that includes work permission. Immigration law requires that parole be for special emergency circumstances, a condition that the Biden administration has ignored but instead has granted en masse.

But whether illegal aliens have work authorization or not, they are eager to enter the labor pool---under-the-table wages are imperative for their survival. Chinese migrants are the fastest growing classification of illegal alien border crossers. Customs and Border Protection data shows that more than 37,000 Chinese illegal immigrants were encountered at the U.S.'s southwestern border in 2023, nearly 10 times last year’s tally. Like other ethnic groups, after the Chinese surrender to CBP, they disperse into the interior to join friends and family, often also illegally present. Although illegal immigrants cannot legally work until their asylum petition has been pending for six months, most arrive with little savings, and start to work for cash almost immediately. The underground, unregulated, unreported, and untaxed economy is vast and includes women who clean houses, prepare hospital meals, work in salons and men employed as mechanics, gardeners or cooks. Some have taken positions at Chinese-operated marijuana farms and desperate women have become prostitutes. Information CBP gathered from detained Chinese illegal immigrants suggest they may be more motivated to work once in the U.S. interior. While some fleeing China are working class, many come from middle class backgrounds. Chinese illegal immigrants typically spend between $5,000 and $7,000 for self-guided trips, but up to $35,000 to enlist smugglers aid, three times what Latin Americans illegal immigrants typically pay. Whatever the sum owing, the bill must be paid; the consequences for forfeiting debts to traffickers are severe.

The Chinese will be a permanent part of the U.S. labor market, an ongoing source of competition for job-seeking Americans. Based on FY 2023 data, 55% of Chinese asylum petitions are approved, an action that sanctions their presence and guarantees that, through chain migration, their total population and labor pool presence will continue to grow.

Joe Guzzardi is an Institute for Sound Public Policy analyst who has written about immigration for more than 30 years. Contact him at jguzzardi@ifspp.org