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The Labour Market

Migration and the labour market

  • 3 things to know
  • All three components

Overview

What immigration and emigration do to labour supply, wages and skill shortages, with the evidence on effects that are small on average and uneven by sector.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What is net migration?

Key term

How does inward migration affect the supply of labour?

Key term

Which workers are most likely to see wages fall after large inward migration?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is net migration?

    Model answer

    Net migration is the number of people entering a country minus the number leaving it. A positive figure adds to the population and to the potential labour force.

  2. 2

    How does inward migration affect the supply of labour?

    Model answer

    Inward migration of working-age people shifts the labour supply curve to the right. The equilibrium wage falls and the level of employment rises.

  3. 3

    Which workers are most likely to see wages fall after large inward migration?

    Model answer

    Workers competing directly with migrants for low-skilled jobs face the strongest downward pressure. Studies find the impact concentrated at the bottom of the wage distribution.

  4. 4

    How can migration raise the demand for labour as well as the supply?

    Model answer

    Migrants spend their earnings on housing, food and services in the host economy. Higher aggregate demand raises the demand for labour and offsets some downward wage pressure.

  5. 5

    How does migration help firms facing skill shortages?

    Model answer

    Migration brings in workers with qualifications that the domestic labour force lacks. Vacancies are filled faster, which allows output to expand.

  6. 6

    What effect does migration have on the economy's productive capacity?

    Model answer

    A larger workforce raises potential output and shifts long run aggregate supply to the right. Capacity can grow without adding to inflationary pressure.

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