Immigrants can aid growth

Workforce must replace exiting Boomers

WASHINGTON - America’s work force will only grow over the next two decades if new immigrants arrive to replace retiring Baby Boomers, a report from the Pew Research Center finds.

In a report out Wednesday, Pew projects that the U.S. working-age (25-64) population will grow from 173 million in 2015 to 183 million in 2035. But new immigrants will account for all the growth. Without them, the number of workingage Americans would drop to 166 million by 2035.

As Baby Boomers retire, the number of U.S.-born working-age adults with U.S.-born parents will account for a smaller share of working-age population: 66 percent in 2035, down from 74 percent in 2015.

The Pew report echoes what many economists have been saying: The U.S. needs immigrants as Baby Boomers retire, and an unusually large share of working-age Americans choose not to look for work.

An aging workforce and disappointing gains in productivity have dragged down U.S. economic growth, which came in at a lackluster 1.9 percent annual rate from October through December. The report comes as President Donald Trump calls for the construction of a border wall to keep Mexicans from crossing into the United States in search of work.

The president also supports steppedup deportations of immigrants living in the U.S. without permission.

Pew’s projections are based on current rates of immigration and combine legal immigrants with those who enter the United States illegally.