Future U.S. Economic Growth Hinges on Immigrants

With the native birthrate slipping, employers are increasingly relying on foreign-born workers to staff up.

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Immigration is a major political issue ahead of the elections, especially illegal immigration. It’s also a vital economic issue these days. The workforce depends on immigrants to a greater extent than it typically has in the past, and that shows no sign of changing, as the number of native-born workers flattens and eventually shrinks. 

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David Payne
Staff Economist, The Kiplinger Letter

David is both staff economist and reporter for The Kiplinger Letter, overseeing Kiplinger forecasts for the U.S. and world economies. Previously, he was senior principal economist in the Center for Forecasting and Modeling at IHS/GlobalInsight, and an economist in the Chief Economist's Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce. David has co-written weekly reports on economic conditions since 1992, and has forecasted GDP and its components since 1995, beating the Blue Chip Indicators forecasts two-thirds of the time. David is a Certified Business Economist as recognized by the National Association for Business Economics. He has two master's degrees and is ABD in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.