New York immigrants boost city economy by $200 billion

New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, gestures as he answers questions regarding the city's response to a winter snow storm in New York December 29, 2010.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City's immigrants contribute $200 billion to the city economy every year and represent one-third of managerial and professional workers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Monday.

The mayor, a political independent and the billionaire founder of his eponymous company, often calls for stiffening border controls while relaxing limits that bar employers from bringing in highly educated foreign workers.

Bloomberg said that all too often currently, foreigners who earn graduate degrees in the United States must return overseas to find work, depriving the nation of their skills and talents,

"Stapling a green card to a diploma would be a very smart thing to do and I've always thought that," he told reporters.

The New York City gross product -- which, like the U.S. GDP, is a measure of total economic activity -- totaled $565 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to city Comptroller John Liu.

While immigrants make up 36 percent of the city's population, they account for 46 percent of all workers who are residents, said Bloomberg. "They come here to work; this is not a country where it's easy to come and put your feet up."

Bloomberg also said that the 11 million people who are living illegally in the United States must be given a path to some form of legal residency, which might fall short of full citizenship.

"The dithering in Washington about real immigration reform is unconscionable and it is really hurting this country; immigrants are crucial to this city's economy," he said.

(Reporting by Joan Gralla; Editing by Leslie Adler)