Immigration Hostility Widespread in U.S. and 5 Largest European Countries

Many people in all six countries see negative impact on economy, jobs and public services

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Sep 10, 2010, 06:35 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A new Financial Times/Harris Poll finds that immigration is widely unpopular in the United States and in all of the five largest countries in Europe. The survey asked about immigration generally and not about illegal immigration. Majorities in four of the countries and pluralities in the other two believe that immigration makes it harder to find new jobs. Majorities in three countries and over 40% in the other three believe it has a bad effect on education. Majorities in four of the countries and 40% or more in the other two think it has a bad effect on health care services. Americans, even though they live in what has been described as a nation of immigrants are not, in general, any less hostile to immigration than Europeans.

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These are some of the findings of a Financial Times/Harris Poll conducted online by Harris Interactive® among 6,098 adults aged 16-64 within France (1,004), Germany (1,036), Great Britain (1,099), Spain (1,032), U.S. (989) and adults aged 18-64 in Italy (948) between August 18 and 25, 2010.

The main findings of this new poll include:

Majorities in Britain and Spain, and large minorities in the U.S., France, Italy , and Germany think that immigration has a bad impact on the economy;
Majorities in the U.S., Britain, Italy, and Spain believe that immigration makes it harder to find a new job, as do 45% in France and 46% in Germany;
While most people who are working do not believe that immigration has had any effect on their pay, those who think they are paid less greatly outnumber those who say they are paid more;
Only minorities, between 13% in France and 40% in Italy, believe that immigration has made it more affordable to hire services such as cleaners, builders or plumbers;
Majorities in the U.S., Britain, France and Spain and over 40% in Italy and Germany believe that immigration makes the level of health care services worse; and,
Majorities in the U.S., Britain and Germany believe that immigration has made public education worse, as do over 40% in France, Italy and Spain.

Overall, many people in all six countries believe that the current level of immigration makes their countries worse places to live in , varying from 64% in Britain, 60% in Spain, and 57% in Italy to 49% in the U.S., 44% in Germany, and 43% in France.

So What?

This survey underlines the political problems that confront governments and politicians when they are addressing issues of immigration, and the easy opportunities for populist leaders to win votes by advocating anti-immigration policies. And of course the issue of illegal immigration, that was not addressed in this survey, is much more difficult.

TABLE 1 IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON SALARY "Thinking about your current salary and immigration, do you think you are paid any less, more or no differently as a result of current immigration into Europe/the U.S.?"

Base: All employed adults
	U.S.	Great Britain	France	Italy	Spain	Germany
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Paid less	18	27	24	21	32	30
Paid the same	76	69	74	67	64	61
Paid more	6	4	2	12	4	9
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 2 IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON JOB FINDING "Thinking still about immigration, do you think it is any easier, harder or the same to find a new job in Europe/the U.S.?"

Base: All adults
	U.S.	Great Britain	France	Italy	Spain	Germany
	%	%	%	%	%	%
It is easier	2	4	1	2	4	5
The same	32	24	43	33	26	42
It is harder	57	57	45	60	67	46
Not applicable/I do not work and am not looking for a job	9	15	11	4	2	7
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 3 IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON HIRING SERVICES "In your experience has immigration made hiring services such as cleaners, builders, plumbers etc any more or less affordable?"

Base: All adults
	U.S.	Great Britain	France	Italy	Spain	Germany
	%	%	%	%	%	%
It is more affordable to hire these services	22	26	13	40	27	26
It has made no difference	63	60	61	43	52	54
It is more expensive to hire these services	15	14	26	17	21	20
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 4 IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON ECONOMY "Overall, do you think immigration has a…?"

Base: All adults
	U.S.	Great Britain	France	Italy	Spain	Germany
	%	%	%	%	%	%
…good influence on the [insert: French, Spanish, German, Italian, British, American] economy	24	17	26	40	32	20
…neutral influence on the [insert: French, Spanish, German, Italian, British, American] economy	33	31	27	18	17	47
…bad influence on the [insert: French, Spanish, German, Italian, British, American] economy	43	52	48	42	51	32
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 5 IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON HEALTH SERVICE "Thinking about the [for GB: National Health Service for all other markets: the level of health service available in your country], do you think that the current level of immigration…?"

Base: All adults
	U.S.	Great Britain	France	Italy	Spain	Germany
	%	%	%	%	%	%
…makes the [GB: National Health Service, all others: the level of health service available in your country] better	3	9	6	3	8	7
…has no impact on the [GB: National Health Service, all others: the level of health service available in your country]	34	25	34	51	38	52
…makes the[GB: National Health Service, all others: the level of health service available in your country] worse	63	66	60	46	54	40
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 6 IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON EDUCATION "And thinking about education that the state provides, do you think that the current level of immigration…?"

Base: All adults
	U.S.	Great Britain	France	Italy	Spain	Germany
	%	%	%	%	%	%
…makes state education better	5	6	7	13	10	8
…has no impact on state education	40	32	48	46	42	36
…makes state education worse	55	63	45	41	48	56
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 7 IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON COUNTRY "And do you think that the current level of immigration into [insert country] makes the country…?"

Base: All adults
	U.S.	Great Britain	France	Italy	Spain	Germany
	%	%	%	%	%	%
…a better place to live	17	11	10	11	8	16
…a worse place to live	49	64	43	57	60	44
…the same place to live / has no impact	34	24	47	32	32	40
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Methodology

This FT/Harris Poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive among a total of 6,098 adults aged 16-64 within France (1,004), Germany (1,036), Great Britain (1,099), Spain (1,032), U.S. (989) and adults aged 18-64 in Italy (948) between August 18 and 25, 2010. Figures for age, sex, education, region and Internet usage were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult populations of the respective countries. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls and the British Polling Council.

The Harris Poll® #105, September 10, 2010

By Humphrey Taylor, Chairman, The Harris Poll, Harris Interactive

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.