Immigration will be fundamental to growing the working-age population in the United States as the baby boomer generation heads into retirement, a new study found.
The study, conducted by the Pew Research Center, projects that growth in the working age population between the years of 2015 and 2035 will total 10 million, which is significantly slower than when the baby boomer generation was in its prime.
“That total growth of 10 million over two decades will be lower than the total in any single decade since the Baby Boomers began pouring into the workforce in the 1960s,” the study explains.
The losses from boomers aging out of the workforce however, are expected to be offset by increases in working age immigrants over the next two decades. The number of working-age immigrants is expected to increase by nearly 5 million, from 33.9 million in 2015 to 38.5 million in 2035.
Without these new arrivals, the study estimates projected number for the U.S. working age population would decline by 8 million from 2015.