NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Want to get paid more? The White House claims President Obama's immigration plan will raise wages for immigrants and American-born alike. But the amount seems less than eye-popping ... $170 a year by 2024.
Wages are a very sensitive topic in the U.S. these days. That's because Americans haven't had a real raise in years. Average hourly earnings aren't keeping up with inflation, and U.S. median income has fallen back to 1995 levels.
The administration is touting the economic benefits of the president's controversial executive action that would legally permit up to 5 million undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States temporarily. The move will increase productivity, expand the workforce and reduce the deficit, the White House's economic advisers say. And it will have no impact on employment of U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.
Economic experts on both sides of the political spectrum generally shrugged, agreeing that the action will not hurt Americans workers and may help certain folks a little bit.
"The larger point is that it's not negative. This is not harmful to native-born workers," said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal group.
When it comes to wages, the move will boost annual earnings mainly because it will make it easier for high-skilled immigrants to work in the U.S. They will start companies and innovate, raising wages for all skilled workers, said Stan Veuger, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning group.
As a result, American-born college grads will increase by about $300 a year by 2024, according to the White House. Those with a high school degree will get a roughly $110 boost. Combined, it will raise wages by $130 (because there are fewer college grads).
On the flip side, allowing low-skilled workers to remain in the country will translate into a $40 average wage gain for native-born workers, the administration says.
Undocumented immigrants, however, would see an even bigger benefit. Their earnings would likely rise by about 8.5% since they could work legally and find jobs that match their skills, according to the left-leaning Center for American Progress.
Steven Senne/AP NEW YORK -- Walmart's first-quarter net income fell 5 percent as the world's largest retailer was hurt by bad winter weather and continues to see its low-income customers struggle in the U.S. and around the globe. The company's performance missed Wall Street's expectations, and it gave a weak second-quarter earnings forecast. Walmart's (WMT) stock fell nearly 3 percent in premarket trading Thursday. The results underscore the big challenges facing Walmart's new CEO, Doug McMillon, who took over the top role on Feb. 1. The retailer is considered an economic bellwether, with the company accounting for nearly 10 percent of nonautomotive retail spending in the U.S. Walmart's latest performance appears to show that many people are having a hard time stretching their money between paychecks. For the period ended April 30, the Bentonville, Arkansas, company earned $3.59 billion, or $1.11 a share. That compares with $3.78 billion, or $1.14 a share, a year ago. Walmart Stores said that bad weather hurt earnings by about 3 cents a share. Its performance was also dinged by a higher-than-expected tax rate. Income from continuing operations was $1.10 a share. Analysts, on average, expected earnings of $1.15 a share, according to a FactSet survey. "Like other retailers in the United States, the unseasonably cold and disruptive weather negatively impacted U.S. sales and drove operating expenses higher than expected," President and CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement. But Walmart has been suffering from weak sales in the U.S. for some time. Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year slipped 0.2 percent in the quarter, the fifth consecutive quarter of decline the metric, considered a key gauge of a retailer's financial performance. Analysts had been expecting the measure to be flat. In the U.S., while jobs are easier to get and the housing market is gaining momentum, these improvements haven't been enough to get Americans to spend. On top of that, the Nov. 1 expiration of a temporary boost in food stamps is hurting its shoppers' ability to spend. Total revenue rose 1 percent to $114.96 billion. Wall Street was calling for higher revenue of $116.43 billion. Revenues Rise McMillon said in a prerecorded call that U.S. sales rose during the second half of the quarter, but that Sam's Club had lower-than-expected sales. While membership income climbed, McMillon said it was mostly because of a fee increase started last year. Total U.S. revenue rose 2 percent to $67.85 billion. Walmart International's sales rose 3.4 percent in the quarter, on a constant currency basis. Walmart, which has 10,994 stores in 27 countries, is facing stiff completion from dollar chains and online king Amazon.com (AMZN). Walmart has been sharpening its focus on everyday low prices at U.S. stores and further pushing that strategy abroad. Walmart also said earlier in the year that it will speed up growth plans for its smaller Neighborhood Markets and Walmart Express stores that cater to shoppers looking for more convenience with fresh produce and meat and household and beauty products. In a call with the media, Walmart executives said super centers are getting bigger purchases on each trip from people stocking up on bulk items, but traffic has been weaker, particularly in the bottom performing 10 percent of its stores. At Neighborhood Markets, on the other hand, traffic is up 4 percent as people buy fill-in items at the smaller stores. For the second quarter, Walmart anticipates earnings from continuing operations in a range of $1.15 to $1.25 a share. Analysts predict earnings of $1.28 a share. The company's shares fell $2.41, or 3.1 percent, to $76.33 in premarket trading just before the market opened.
) reported its third quarter results, higher revenue and slightly lower unadjusted earnings compared to last year’s Q3.
