Jobs and Seekers

   The unemployment rate in America dropped to 5 percent in October as the nation added 271,000 jobs, the government reported. 
  Meanwhile, migrants escaping troubles in the Middle East and seeking safety in Europe not only will add to the labor force there but may well boost the economy of nations in the European Union. A prediction by the European Commission said three million newcomers would help to fill the demand for workers and would boost the EU economy. The lift would be small, the commission noted -- about a quarter of a percent over three years -- but government spending to accommodate the refugees would stimulate the regional economy. Moreover, the larger labor force would make more workers available as the economy recovers.
   As the European Commission put it in its report, the additional workers would help the economy "provided the right policies are in place to facilitate access to the labor market."
   There will be problems, of course, as there always are with a changing population. Cultural differences may cause stress, and worker education and skills will need to match employer needs. But those issues face every nation with a history of immigration, notably the U.S. Over time, America has been the better for it.
   Meanwhile, the economy in America continues its recovery. And political rhetoric attacking newcomers and blaming them for any and all ills of society is no more true today than it was in the 19th Century years of the Know Nothing Party, and the employment signs that said, "Help Wanted -- NINA." (No Irish Need Apply.)