Immigration, a benefit for the economy of rich countries? The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a report published on Thursday that immigration boosted growth in developed countries last year, a period marked by severe labor shortages.
“The year 2023 was marked by particularly significant immigration flows in some OECD economies,” the international organization writes in its report, citing in particular the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain and Australia.
Portugal, Ireland and Canada lead
“These developments had positive effects on labor supply and generally benefited GDP growth” through growth in the active population, the Paris-based institution continues.
The strongest contribution of immigration to labor force growth was recorded in Portugal, Ireland, Canada, Spain and Australia, each contributing more than 1.5 points, according to OECD statistics.
Almost 0.5 points for France
For most of the analyzed states, this contribution is much higher than the average contribution level recorded between 2010 and 2019.
For France, the contribution of foreign-born labor to the growth of the active population was almost 0.5 points.
Increase in labor shortage work from covid
The global economy has been hit hard since the Covid-19 pandemic by a rise in labor shortages, both in the eurozone and in the United States and Japan, OECD figures released on Thursday showed.
The positive or negative contribution of immigration to the economy is a topic regularly debated against the background of debates about security and identity, and the subject of many analytical works. In 2021, the Council for Economic Analysis (CAE), an organization that depends on Matignon, confirmed that skilled immigration is a “benefit” to be developed for the French economy.
