Gordon Hanson Quoted in The Arizona Republic
Migrants' place in the 'underground' economy often reflects culture as well as caution
07/25/2010
Betty Beard,
The Arizona Republic
Immigrant labor has grown largely in the U.S. because Americans increasingly have become less willing to work certain jobs.
Gordon Hanson, a University of California-San Diego economics professor, said in a study published in December that the U.S. population has become dramatically better educated over the past 50 years.
In 1960, about half of U.S.-born Americans didn't have high-school diplomas. Today, that percentage is about 8 percent. In contrast, about 47 percent of illegal immigrants between 25 and 64 have not completed high school or its equivalent.
The country still has plenty of low-skilled jobs that many high-school grads don't want, such as those in some construction fields, food preparation, janitorial work and groundskeeping. Immigrants came in to fill that gap. That labor force has proved to be flexible and nimble, moving around the country and growing and shrinking in response to employer needs, Hanson said.
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