The information on or through this site is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on as a substitute for specific advice about laws, regulations, taxes, finances, immigration or travel. For specific advice, contact a licensed attorney, financial advisor or other professional. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on this site. We do not warrant the accuracy or usefulness of this information. This site may contain links to other sites and information provided by third parties for your convenience. We do not endorse nor make any guarantees with respect to these sites, their accessibility, the information they contain or the way they treat any information you provide to them.

How do international remittances, or cross-border money transfers, help promote financial inclusion? Improve your financial literacy by learning about budgeting and saving, personal finance.    

Learn how to send money using Ria Money Transfer, new services we offer, our omnichannel services, tips for sending money and the expansion of our network.    

Learn how international migration trends affect remittances and the impact remittances have on the individuals and communities around the world who receive them.     

Videos that feature Ria customers explaining in their own words how their experience of migration has impacted themselves, their families and their communities.     

Learn about different cultures around the world, how people celebrate, what it is like to live abroad and great travel destinations.     

What's new in cross-border payments, tech and finance? Learn about new payments methods like mobile wallets, the importance of the omnichannel experience and workplace trends.

What is Ria doing for the community? What does CSR, corporate social responsibility, mean? What's new in sponsorships at Ria?    

The Ria Blog

We use our own and third-party cookies to analyze our services and to show you advertising related to your preferences based on your browsing habits. Learn more by reading our 

We use first and third-party cookies to help us understand how you interact with the site by collecting and reporting information, such as the number of visitors or clicks. They do not allow us to collect your activity data beyond our site.

🍪 Cookies give you a personalized  experience

We use our own and third-party cookies to analyze our services and to show you advertising related to your preferences based on your browsing habits. Learn more by reading our

These cookies are essential to the basic functioning of our website. They turn on functions like page navigation, authentication, and access to secure areas.

The human species has been migrating since the dawn of time. Many a millennium has passed since our cavemen days, but it’s still human instinct to move around in search of greener pastures.



Nowadays, people can’t roam the world as freely as they once did. The existence of frontiers and border security regulations has helped create a negative perception of immigrants.



However, immigration actually has a positive impact on host economies. Let’s look at some of the data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Immigration and the economy: how migrant workers satisfy and create demand</h2>



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oecd.org/migration/OECD%20Migration%20Policy%20Debates%20Numero%202.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)</a>&nbsp;reported that, in the last decade, migrants have accounted for a 47% increase in the US workforce and a 70% increase in Europe.&nbsp;



For occupations such as machine operating, assembling, maintenance and repair, migrant workers represent a 24% entry increase in Europe and a 28% increase in the US. Those who struggle with the language or have low education levels tend to focus on these manual labor industries that are often disregarded by natives.&nbsp;



But what happens to the many natives who also lack higher education? According to the&nbsp;<a href="https://clas.berkeley.edu/research/immigration-economic-benefits-immigration" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies</a>, natives with similar education backgrounds take up jobs that require more communication skills like supervising or managing.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Immigrants are also high-level workers and business owners</h2>



While a third of immigrants never finished high school, another third possesses a college degree or higher. The 21st century has seen immigrants represent <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/stats-can-education-census-1.6666984">31% of the increase in highly educated workers in Canada,</a> <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/09/14/education-levels-of-u-s-immigrants-are-on-the-rise/">21% in the United States and 14% in Europe</a>.   



Migrant workers also have a significant presence in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors, with international workers comprising 22% of new hires in the US and 15% in Europe.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.riamoneytransfer.com/en/blog/women-migrant-workers-gender-gap" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Migrants fill gaps</a>&nbsp;within both fast-growing and declining sectors of the economy, helping to garner more labor-market flexibility. And that’s not saying anything about the many immigrants who are business owners and employers.&nbsp;In the United States, for instance, there is data indicating that immigrants are more likely to start a business on their own than native-born workers. A lot of these businesses are small ones, which make up a big percentage of all job providers in the US. And while we’re at it, let’s not forget that some major tech companies&nbsp;like&nbsp;Amazon, Google,&nbsp;and Apple were founded by children of immigrants. I guess you can see where we’re going with this: immigration and economic growth&nbsp;go&nbsp;hand in hand.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why immigration is good for the economy (and society as a whole)&nbsp;</h2>



As we’ve discussed above, immigrants can make up big percentages of the workforce in some industries, filling gaps that result from worker shortages and making the economy of host countries stronger. In many developed countries, immigrants help&nbsp;strengthen social security programs&nbsp;by&nbsp;adding more active workers to the economy in comparison to retired workers.&nbsp;



Fields such as maintenance, cleaning, building, fishing and farming,&nbsp;which are critical to any country&#8217;s economy,&nbsp;have a high&nbsp;immigrant&nbsp;participation rate. The percentage can&nbsp;be as high as 36%,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/immigrants-contribute-greatly-to-us-economy-despite-administrations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The bottom line is that immigrants fill gaps in the job market, be it&nbsp;because the&nbsp;local&nbsp;population is not available to fill them or because there aren’t enough workers. And since immigrant workers are often more mobile than the average worker, they contribute to filling these gaps wherever they appear, helping economies at a local level.&nbsp;



There&#8217;s other ways in which immigrants help the economy (and society as a whole). Immigrants support the birth rates of their host countries, which&nbsp;for some countries&nbsp;has dropped considerably in recent years. By doing this, they not only strengthen the labor market, but they also create demand in several industries.&nbsp;&nbsp;



But it’s not all about the economy. Once migrant workers embark on a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.riamoneytransfer.com/en/blog/life-abroad" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">journey to another country in search of a better life</a>&nbsp;and succeed at establishing themselves,&nbsp;they help make cities more vibrant, culturally rich,&nbsp;and diverse.&nbsp;Be it in large urban areas or in rural ones, it’s hard to imagine a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.riamoneytransfer.com/en/blog/a-world-without-immigrants" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world without immigrants</a>&nbsp;nowadays. Immigrants remain a vital force to any country and economy, and a key part of dynamic, thriving societies.



Ready to send money? We’re here for you. Our Ria Money Transfer app is available for iOS and Android – <a href="https://riamoneytransfer.app.link/c9hI6ZLDGlb">download it today to get started</a>.

Workers in conical hats stand in a lush green field, picking crops and carrying large woven baskets on their backs. This scene illustrates how immigration helps the economy by providing essential labor. In the background, a forested mountain range is visible under a clear blue sky.

How Immigration Helps the Economy

About the author

Gabrielle van Welie

Related posts

From Caracas to Cooperstown: Venezuela’s Baseball Journey

The Heartbeat of Puerto Rican Baseball

Dominican Dreams: How Baseball Shapes a Nation

Remittances and Migration in China’s Growth