Issue Absorption capacity, not supply or demand, is the binding constraint

Summary

EY argues that the real limit on migration is neither how many people want to move nor how many workers are wanted. The deciding factor is absorption capacity, meaning the infrastructure that settles newcomers and puts their skills to use. Housing is one pillar, with Canada, Australia and Germany cited for building far too few homes relative to population inflows. Credentials are another, since many educated immigrants work below their qualifications and foreign-trained health workers wait months or years for recognition, which EY calls system failures rather than skill mismatches. When settlement outruns integration, rents rise, services crowd and backlash builds, so this capacity determines whether migration becomes an economic advantage or a source of social strain.