There is extensive research on economic and labor market impacts in communities where environmental disasters occur, but there is very little information on the communities that receive people displaced by climate change. This research examines labor market impacts in climate migrant receiving communities in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Central Florida, particularly Orange and Osceola Counties, received more than 50,000 climate migrants after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017. Houston, Texas, received more than 100,000 new residents from New Orleans who were displaced after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, and northern Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes in Louisiana have been receiving communities for individuals and families living further south in the low-lying and bayou communities along the US Gulf Coast for decades.

This report is one of five studies of climate migration and institutional impacts in the project, which examines impacts to housing markets, financial institutions and financial health, employment and economic development, health care systems, and social, cultural, and recreational institutions.

Why This Matters

When disasters strike, or climate change disrupts the existing landscape and economy, residents may be forced to relocate. Yet the effects of climate migration on the labor markets in receiving communities have not been well researched. This report seeks to fill some of those gaps, examining the short- and long-term impacts of climate migration on employment and economic development in areas that experience an influx of new residents.

Key Takeaways

• Climate migrants may have sought out stronger labor markets in their relocation, but even with strong labor markets, receiving communities were not always prepared for the arrival of new workers.
• Despite the lack of preparation, many service providers, governments, and informal networks adapted and evolved to try to meet the needs of new migrants.
• In the medium to long term, labor markets in the two larger receiving communities seemed to absorb the new migrants with relative ease.
• There is no evidence of negative impacts on employment rates from climate migration.

How We Did It

This mixed-methods study used semi-structured, qualitative interviews conducted with various labor market and institutional stakeholders, as well as employment and population data for Texas and Florida. Using the synthetic control method, the research team estimated medium- to long-run impacts of migration on job creation, employment, and labor force participation.