Innovation and STEM Fields
For America to compete in the 21st century, we need a robust innovation economy—which requires a workforce skilled in the science, technology, engineering, and math (or STEM) fields. Yet American students are not entering those industries in sufficient numbers, and the United States is projected to face a shortage of one million STEM workers by 2022.1 Foreign-born students frequently gravitate towards STEM disciplines, making up roughly one out of every three individuals earning graduate-level STEM degrees each year. Our broken visa system, however, makes it difficult for many of them to stay after graduation—a reality that hurts the ability of our employers to expand and create more opportunity for American workers. 1 President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, "Engage to Excel: Producing 1 million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics," February 2012. Available online.
HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRANTS IN VIRGINIA
Learn more about the need for high-skilled immigration reform at www.LetPJStay.com VIRGINIA FACES A LARGE STEM SHORTAGE There are more STEM job openings than unemployed STEM workers: From 2009 to 2011, 3.3 STEM job openings were posted online in Virginia for every 1 unemployed STEM… Read More
University of Virginia Loses Bright, Talented Professor to China Because of Arduous Visa Process
Dr. Yuanbo Zhang, a physics professor in Shanghai, once had a promising career ahead of him in the United States. In 2000, Zhang, a China native, began a graduate program in physics at Columbia University, eventually earning his PhD in… Read More
HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRANTS IN UTAH
Learn more about the need for high-skilled immigration reform at www.LetPJStay.com UTAH FACES A LARGE STEM SHORTAGE There are more STEM job openings than unemployed STEM workers: From 2009 to 2011, 1.5 STEM job openings were posted online in Utah for every 1 unemployed STEM worker in the… Read More
HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRANTS IN TEXAS
Learn more about the need for high-skilled immigration reform at www.LetPJStay.com TEXAS FACES A LARGE STEM SHORTAGE There are more STEM job openings than unemployed STEM workers: From 2009 to 2011, 2.5 STEM job openings were posted online in Texas for every 1 unemployed STEM worker in the… Read More
Mexican-Born Professor, Inventor, and Entrepreneur is Living Her Dream Life in Texas
In some parts of Texas, immigrant inventors and startup founders are helping to revitalize areas hard hit by unemployment. One prime example: McAllen, Texas, a city in the Rio Grande Valley, where one promising nanotechnology startup that originated at the University of Texas–Pan American is already being heralded as a… Read More
Indian Software Engineer Starts Successful Tech Company in America, but Growth is Slowed by Broken U.S. Immigration System
Harvinder Singh knows all sides of the tech industry. Originally from northern India, Singh was hired in 1998 on an H-1B visa as a software engineer to help prepare for Y2K. After the millennium arrived without incident, Singh was out of a job, but he didn’t want to go back… Read More
HIGH SKILLED IMMIGRANTS IN TENNESSEE
Learn more about the need for high-skilled immigration reform at www.LetPJStay.com TENNESSEE FACES A LARGE STEM SHORTAGE There are more STEM job openings than unemployed STEM workers: From 2009 to 2011, 2.1 STEM job openings were posted online in Tennessee for every 1 unemployed STEM… Read More
Statement on Introduction of the SKILLS Visa Act of 2015
CONTACT Sarah Doolin, Partnership for a New American Economy, [email protected] “This year, the United States will turn away almost 150,000 highly-skilled immigrants who are needed to fill job openings in our economy,” said John Feinblatt, Chairman of New American Economy. “The SKILLS Visa Act is a good first… Read More
HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRANTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Learn more about the need for high-skilled immigration reform at www.LetPJStay.com SOUTH CAROLINA FACES A LARGE STEM SHORTAGE There are more STEM job openings than unemployed STEM workers: From 2009 to 2011, 1.8 STEM job openings were posted online in South Carolina for every 1 unemployed STEM worker in… Read More
HIGH-SKILLED IMMIGRANTS IN PENNSYLVANIA
Learn more about the need for high-skilled immigration reform at www.LetPJStay.com PENNSYLVANIA FACES A LARGE STEM SHORTAGE There are more STEM job openings than unemployed STEM workers: From 2009 to 2011, 2.4 STEM job openings were posted online in Pennsylvania for every 1 unemployed STEM worker in the… Read More
Outsize Role in the Workforce
Immigrants punch above their weight class in the STEM fields, making up far larger portions of the STEM workforce than they do the U.S. population overall. This dynamic is particularly pronounced in several states. In New Jersey, for instance, immigrants make up almost two out of every five STEM workers, while accounting for only one in five of the state’s residents.
States with the Highest Share of Foreign-Born STEM Workers, 2014
Labor Shortages
In recent years, many U.S. employers have struggled to find enough STEM workers. This lack of manpower has real consequences for the economy—making it difficult for firms to expand and create jobs for American workers at all skill levels. In several specialized fields, like physical science and software development, the unemployment rates of U.S.-born STEM workers are particularly low, indicating there are simply not enough U.S.-born workers to meet the needs of employers.
Take a look at our latest research about the shortage of STEM workers.
U.S. Citizen Unemployment Rates in STEM Fields Most Heavily Reliant on Immigrant STEM Workers, 2014
Earning STEM Degrees
International students make up a large share of STEM graduate students. In 2014, more than a quarter of STEM master’s degrees and more than a third of STEM Ph.D. degrees went to students in the country on temporary visas. Meanwhile, the number of American citizen and permanent resident students pursuing graduate degrees in science and engineering fields actually fell by 6.3 percent between 2010 and 2013.2 Our broken immigration system means that many of these international students will struggle to remain in the country after graduation, despite employers needing them.
Sources:
2 National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators, 2016, Appendix Table 2-25. Available online.
Share of Ph.D.'s in Selected Fields Going to Students on Temporary Visas, 2014
States Graduating the Most STEM Students on Temporary Visas, 2014
States Needing STEM Workers
While every state was short STEM workers in 2015, the shortage was particularly acute in North Dakota and South Dakota, where employers listed 87 and 71 STEM positions, respectively, for each unemployed STEM worker. These are gaps that immigrants could help fill. In South Dakota, for instance, immigrants made up just three percent of all STEM workers in 2015, one of the lowest shares in the country.
States with Greatest Shortages of STEM Workers, 2014
Creating U.S. Jobs
Rather than reduce the number of jobs available to American workers, foreign-born STEM graduates often create additional jobs for U.S.-born workers. Research shows that when a state gains 100 foreign-born STEM workers with graduate-level training from a U.S. school, an average of 262 jobs are created for U.S.-born workers there in the seven years that follow.3 More specifically, the temporary visa (H-1B) program for high-skilled workers is also linked to job creation for American workers and economic growth. However, the current system fails not only to provide visas that companies need to grow, but also to protect against fraud and abuse.
Sources:
3 Madeline Zavodny, “Immigration and American Jobs,” The Partnership for a New American Economy and the American Enterprise Institute, 2011. Available online.
States that Stand to Gain the Most from Retaining More Foreign-Born STEM Graduates
The Impact of our Broken Immigration System
Since the recession, some of the most robust growth in high-wage, American jobs has occurred in cities. The high-tech companies fueling this growth cannot succeed and grow, however, without qualified STEM professionals—a group that can be difficult to find. An annual cap on the number of available green cards and H-1B visas hinders efforts to hire immigrant STEM professionals when no American workers are available. At right, we explore how the H-1B requests for computer-related workers that did not make it through the 2007 and 2008 H-1B visa lotteries impacted wages and the number of jobs available for U.S.-born tech workers in the two years that followed.4
Sources:
4 Partnership for a New American Economy, “Closing Economic Windows: How H-1B Visa Denials Cost U.S.-Born Tech Workers Jobs and Wages During the Great Recession," June 4, 2014. Available online.
Metropolitan Areas Hurt Most by 2007 and 2008 Denials in the H-1B Lottery
Driving Innovation
International STEM students and graduates are behind some of America’s most impressive innovations, from artificial skin to moldable metal. Studies show that immigrants with an advanced degree are three times more likely than U.S.-born graduate degree holders to file a patent. When universities increase their share of international students, they often receive more patents—boosting revenue and creating more opportunities for all students.
Share of Patents Awarded to Top Patent Producing Research Universities with at Least One Foreign-Born Inventor, 2011
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