WISCONSIN FACES A LARGE STEM SHORTAGE
- There are more STEM job openings than unemployed STEM workers: From 2009 to 2011, 2.2 STEM job openings were posted online in Wisconsin for every 1 unemployed STEM worker in the state.
- As STEM fields grow, this problem will likely get worse: Wisconsin will need to fill 120,330 new STEM jobs by 2020.
- The healthcare industry in particular will be affected by a shortfall of STEM workers: Researchers estimate Wisconsin will be short 10,530 registered nurses by 2030, and the Wisconsin Hospital Association projects that Wisconsin could face a physician shortage of 3,312 – or 22 percent of all doctors needed – by 2030.
IMMIGRANTS ARE FILLING STEM SHORTAGES IN WISCONSIN
- Immigrants are over-represented in the STEM workforce: Immigrants are 4.8 percent of Wisconsin’s population, but in 2010, 12.1 percent of STEM workers with an advanced degree in Wisconsin were foreign-born.
- Immigrants play a critical role in the healthcare industry: In 2012, 18.4 percent of physicians in Wisconsin had graduated from a foreign medical school, a population that is overwhelmingly immigrant.
IMMIGRANTS INCREASINGLY POWER WISCONSIN’S INNOVATION ECONOMY
- Immigrants are more likely to study STEM than the native-born: In 2009, more than one in three of the students earning master’s or PhD degrees in STEM fields from Wisconsin’s research-intensive universities were foreign-born.
- US Science and Engineering programs are increasingly dependent on immigrantsImmigrants are inventing the products that will drive innovation over the coming decades: In 2011, 71 percent of patents awarded to the University of Wisconsin system had at least one foreign-born inventor, and 51 percent had at least one foreign-born student, postdoctoral fellow, or researcher, groups with no clear path to stay in America after graduation. In FY 2010, the university system earned $54 million in patent licensure revenue.
HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRATION REFORM WOULD HELP WISCONSIN’S COMPANIES COMPETE AND CREATE AMERICAN JOBS
- High-skilled visa holders create jobs for U.S.-born workers: The new H-1B visas awarded to Wisconsin between 2010 and 2013 will translate into 5,433 new jobs for U.S.-born workers in the state by 2020.
