Jobs are the lifeblood for national economies and family budgets. The search for economic opportunity often drives people to move around the globe. The most educated and highly skilled workers are in demand, and immigration policies often reflect that priority. Less skilled would-be immigrants, however, are often subject to tighter restrictions – even in nations where native citizens refuse to take on harvesting, construction, cleaning or other difficult tasks. Advanced technology reduces the need for labor; employers also rely on outsourcing, contract workers and the internet for digital work, including tax preparation, X-ray analysis or graphic design. Nations fiercely compete for jobs while multinational corporations reduce labor costs to increase profits.

Commerce Department Report on Offshore Outsourcing Finally Sees the Light of Day

Confronting huge loss in US technology jobs, the Bush administration adopts the strategy that no news is good news
Richard McCormack
August 4, 2006

The Immigration Equation

Two rival economists debate the political, cultural and economic value of immigration
Roger Lowenstein
July 14, 2006

Slave Labor That Shames America

In confronting rising costs, farmers get harsh with immigrant labor
Leonard Doyle
January 3, 2008

From East to West

Indian nurses, once shunned in their homeland, are courted by US hospitals
Rana Rosen
July 24, 2006

Migrants, Bound for Spain, Set off a Boom

Frustrated with a coast stripped of resources, African migrants risk lives by embarking on desperate sea voyages to Spain
Meg Bortin
June 21, 2006