Labor-Intensive Industries
New Data Shows Immigrants Made Up Nearly 30 Percent of STEM Workers in North Texas in 2017
GRAPEVINE, TX – New data from New American Economy (NAE) shows that immigrants make up nearly 30 percent of North Texas’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers. The report, which looks at immigrant contributions to the North Texas workforce, tax base, and major industries, was released at… Read More
New data shows the number of immigrant entrepreneurs in the Washington, D.C. metro area grew by more than 11 percent in one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the Washington, D.C. metro area’s community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in Washington, D.C. are driving economic growth… Read More
New data shows that immigrant household income in the New York metro area grew by more than $11 billion in one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the New York metro area’s community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in New York are playing an essential… Read More
New Report Shows Immigrants in Lowell Accounted for Nearly 90 Percent of Recent Population Growth
Lowell, MA – Immigrant households earned nearly $1.5 billion and contributed $402 million in taxes in 2017, according to new research by New American Economy (NAE) in partnership with the Lowell Refugee and Immigrant Support and Engagement (RISE) Coalition and the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce. The report also finds… Read More
New data shows Albany’s immigrants paid $715 million in taxes in 2017, a more than 10 percent increase in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the community and economy in and around Albany. The data shows that immigrants in the Albany metro area are crucial… Read More
New data shows Philadelphia’s immigrant household income increased by nearly $3 billion in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to the Philadelphia community and economy. The data shows that immigrants are crucial contributors to Philadelphia’s economy — the area’s immigrant… Read More
New data shows Grand Rapids’ immigrants earned close to $2 billion in household income in 2017, an increase of more than $100 million in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to Grand Rapids’ community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in Grand Rapids, Michigan are driving economic growth — the… Read More
New data shows San Jose’s immigrant household income increased by more than $4 billion in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to San Jose’s community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in San Jose are driving economic growth — the area’s… Read More
Immigration and the Small Business Workforce
Introduction Chairwoman Velázquez, Ranking Member Chabot, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and provide testimony on behalf of New American Economy (NAE). NAE is a bipartisan coalition of more than 500 mayors and business leaders from all 50 states and every… Read More
Dallas News Commentary: It’s the workforce, stupid. Why Texas business is gearing up to fight for immigrants
It’s the workforce, stupid. That’s one way to sum up the rationale behind a new push by Texas businesses to rally support for immigrants and immigration reform. At a time of low unemployment and strong demand for workers, the group wants to stop scaring off potential newcomers to Texas. Some… Read More
Demographic Shifts
Over the last two decades, the size of the U.S.-born population with a high school degree or less has significantly decreased. This trend is particularly evident among young workers, ages 25-44, the group typically most capable of doing physically demanding work. As this population declined, however, the number of jobs for workers with that education level held steady. Thus, real and persistent gaps in the American workforce have opened up, especially in agriculture, hospitality, and meatpacking. Foreign-born workers—a group considerably more likely than natives to lack education beyond high school—step in to fill those jobs that would otherwise remain vacant.
Sources:
1 New American Economy, “A Crucial Piece of the Puzzle: Demographic Change and Why Immigrants are Needed to Fill America’s Less-Skilled Labor Gap,” March 2014. Available online.
2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Industry-Occupation Employment Matrix 2014-2024, April 2016. Available online.
Educational Breakdown of Foreign-Born and Native-Born Populations, 2014
Occupations Dependent on Immigrants
The foreign-born make up 16.5 percent of the working-age population in the United States. In some particularly labor-intensive fields, their role is much greater. From 2008 to 2012, for instance, immigrants made up 72.9 percent of field and crop workers. In other large industries, such as construction, foreign-born workers frequently take on the most physically demanding roles, while U.S.-born workers frequently prefer positions that require more English-language skills or experience in management or customer service. In fact, of the top 10 occupations with the largest share of immigrant workers, nine of them are labor-intensive in nature or involve repetitive, manual tasks.
Sources:
3 Author’s analysis of 2015 American Community Survey data.
Top 10 Occupations with Highest Share of Immigrant Workers, 20153
Help Wanted
Across communities and industries, employers report trouble finding enough workers. Between 2002 and 2014, the number of field and crop workers in America declined by 146,000, causing major labor shortages on U.S. farms. A rapidly aging population also strains the healthcare workforce, a problem likely to worsen as more Baby Boomers retire. In many fields, immigrants can and do help businesses find the workers they need to compete and grow.
Sources:
4 “2016/2017 Talent Shortage Survey: The United States Results,” ManpowerGroup, n.d., Available online.
5 Home Care Pulse. “2015 Private Duty Benchmarking Study.” April 2015.
6 New American Economy, "International Harvest: A Case Study of How Foreign Workers Help American Farms Grow Crops – and the Economy," May 2013. Available online.
Jobs Americans Won’t Do: Evidence from the North Carolina Farming Industry, 20116
The Impact on American Workers
Although long a controversial issue among academics and policymakers, there is widespread evidence that the presence of more immigrants with relatively low levels of education does not substantially displace U.S.-born workers. Instead, a greater supply of less-skilled immigrants is linked to a decrease in offshoring7 and an expansion of firms on U.S. soil8—resulting in net benefits for U.S.-born workers across the board. The unique way in which immigrants frequently slot into the workforce—gravitating toward more manual or repetitive tasks—also means an influx of less-skilled immigrants has only a moderate impact, if any, on the wages of less-educated U.S.-born workers, particularly over the long term. Instead, they compete most directly with other immigrant workers.9
Sources:
7 Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano, Giovanni Peri, and Greg C. Wright, “Immigration, Offshoring and American Jobs," National Bureau of Economic Research, October 2010. Available online.
8 William W. Olney, “IMMIGRATION AND FIRM EXPANSION,” Journal of Regional Science 53 (2013), doi:10.1111/jors.12004.
9 Heidi Shierholz, “Immigration and Wages: Methodological Advancements Confirm Modest Gains for Native Workers,” February 4, 2010. Available online.
10 Ibid.
11 Findings come from an NAE report that examines the benefit of a one standard deviation increase in birthplace diversity among workers in the bottom half of all earners in a given workplace or metropolitan area. More details can be found in the full report, available here.
12 Based on an analysis of 1998-2008 data; William W. Olney, “IMMIGRATION AND FIRM EXPANSION,” Journal of Regional Science 53 (2013), doi:10.1111/jors.12004.
Estimated Impact of Immigration on the Wages of Less-Educated Workers, 1994-200710
Wage Impact Felt by Employees in the Same Workplace or City When the Lowest Paid Workers Become More Internationally Diverse11
Number of New Establishments that are Created when the Share of Less-Educated Immigrants in a Metropolitan Area Rises by 10 Percent12
Costs of a Farmworker Shortage
In 2014, more than 56 percent of entry-level farmworkers in the United States were immigrants. Given this, changes in immigrant labor supply tend to ripple across the U.S. agriculture economy. In the last decade, a 75 percent slowdown in the arrival of young, low-skilled immigrant farmworkers meant shortages for entry-level field and crop positions. Many farmers report that the H-2A visa program, which allows the recruitment of foreign-born farmworkers, is too cumbersome and expensive—leaving them few ways to replenish their workforce. The result is many farms cutting their production of fresh fruits and vegetables.13
Sources:
13 “NCAE Survey of 2010 H-2A Employers - Final Summary," National Council of Agricultural Employers, December 2011. Available online.
Decline of Field and Crop Workers in Key States, 2002-2014
Inadequate Visa Programs
Although immigrants already help fill gaps in the U.S. labor force, our current immigration system does not allow employers to recruit enough of the specific workers they need. Employers can sponsor low-skilled workers for an agricultural visa (the H-2A visa), or for a visa designed to meet seasonal demand at venues like hotels, amusement parks, and ski resorts (the H-2B visa). Both programs, however, are cumbersome and outdated. And many of the fields that struggle the most to find workers, including healthcare and construction, lack a dedicated visa altogether. Improvements must be made so more industries—and specific geographies—can recruit temporary foreign-born workers when no Americans are available for the job.
Sources:
14 “NCAE Survey of 2010 H-2A Employers - Final Summary, "National Council of Agricultural Employers, December 2011. Available online.
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