How do immigrants affect earnings of native workers in the countries in which they arrive? THIS is the “Million Dollar Question.” Immigration increases the supply of labor, causes an excess supply, and drives down the price of labor (what economists call the “real wage rate”). For native workers (who retain their jobs), their real (after-inflation) take-home pay should fall. This is the major concern of native workers on the immigration issue; their real incomes decline (and potentially worse, they may lose their jobs – more on this below).