MUMBAI: America’s 47.6 million workers who are immigrants or the US-born children of immigrants play a vital role in meeting US workforce needs, with large numbers well positioned to meet future demand, according to a recent study by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI).
Immigrant-origin workers accounted for 29 % of the overall US workforce in 2023, up from 19 % in 2000.With US birth rates falling, immigrants and their US-born children accounted for the entire growth of the prime working-age (25-54) population between 2000 and 2023, a population that otherwise would have shrunk by more than 8 million people.
The report, ‘How immigrants and their US-born children fit into the future of the US labor market’ examines the projected educational demands of future US jobs and how well the education and training of today’s workers meets those demands.
Drawing on US Census Bureau data and projections of the future growth of different occupational groups and anticipated educational requirements for US jobs, the report compares trends in the immigrant-origin population with those among US-born adults with US-born parents. It also explores the workforce and immigration policy implications of these findings.
Given the immigrant-origin population’s fast rate of growth among prime-working-age adults, it should not be surprising that immigrants and their US-born children are already an important component of the US workforce across occupations and skill levels. In 2023, the 47.6 million immigrant-origin workers represented 29 % of all US workers ages 18 and older, up from 19 % in 2000. But the immigrant origin share of workers is much higher in certain occupations. For instance, immigrant-origin workers are heavily represented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and social sciences workforce.
In 2023, they made up 38 % of workers in STEM-related occupations, where college-educated workers predominate and where the median salary and wage income is $90,900 per year. At the same time, immigrant-origin adults made up 36 % of workers in food and personal services, an occupational group characterized by lower skill levels and where the median salary is $30,000.
Immigrant-origin workers are also overrepresented in healthcare support and blue-collar occupational groups, accounting for 34 % of workers in each. These two occupational groups vary in terms of their gender composition and average incomes. The healthcare support workforce (including home health aides and personal care aides) is overwhelmingly female (84 %) and has a median salary of $31,200. Occupations in the blue-collar cluster are predominantly male (83 %) and offer a higher median wage ($41,600).
Collectively, these four occupational groups—STEM, food and personal services, health-care support, and blue-collar occupations—employed 45 % of all US workers and 55 % of immigrant-origin workers in 2023. Looking to the future, the US economy is projected to grow by nearly 3 % between 2022 and 2032, adding close to 4.7 million jobs, with employment rising to 169.1 million. Between 2022 and 2032, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that healthcare support occupations will grow most rapidly (by 15 %).
Jobs in STEM-related occupations are also expected to expand significantly, by 11 %. The wider adoption of AI and other technologies, the continuing digitalization of the US economy, and the rise in cyberattacks and data breaches on US businesses and governments are expected to lead to a greater demand for STEM workers in the coming years. These two fast-growing occupational groups currently rely heavily on immigrant-origin workers: 38 % of STEM workers and 34 % of health-care support workers were of immigrant origins in 2023.
Immigrant-origin workers accounted for 29 % of the overall US workforce in 2023, up from 19 % in 2000.With US birth rates falling, immigrants and their US-born children accounted for the entire growth of the prime working-age (25-54) population between 2000 and 2023, a population that otherwise would have shrunk by more than 8 million people.
The report, ‘How immigrants and their US-born children fit into the future of the US labor market’ examines the projected educational demands of future US jobs and how well the education and training of today’s workers meets those demands.
Drawing on US Census Bureau data and projections of the future growth of different occupational groups and anticipated educational requirements for US jobs, the report compares trends in the immigrant-origin population with those among US-born adults with US-born parents. It also explores the workforce and immigration policy implications of these findings.
Given the immigrant-origin population’s fast rate of growth among prime-working-age adults, it should not be surprising that immigrants and their US-born children are already an important component of the US workforce across occupations and skill levels. In 2023, the 47.6 million immigrant-origin workers represented 29 % of all US workers ages 18 and older, up from 19 % in 2000. But the immigrant origin share of workers is much higher in certain occupations. For instance, immigrant-origin workers are heavily represented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and social sciences workforce.
In 2023, they made up 38 % of workers in STEM-related occupations, where college-educated workers predominate and where the median salary and wage income is $90,900 per year. At the same time, immigrant-origin adults made up 36 % of workers in food and personal services, an occupational group characterized by lower skill levels and where the median salary is $30,000.
Immigrant-origin workers are also overrepresented in healthcare support and blue-collar occupational groups, accounting for 34 % of workers in each. These two occupational groups vary in terms of their gender composition and average incomes. The healthcare support workforce (including home health aides and personal care aides) is overwhelmingly female (84 %) and has a median salary of $31,200. Occupations in the blue-collar cluster are predominantly male (83 %) and offer a higher median wage ($41,600).
Collectively, these four occupational groups—STEM, food and personal services, health-care support, and blue-collar occupations—employed 45 % of all US workers and 55 % of immigrant-origin workers in 2023. Looking to the future, the US economy is projected to grow by nearly 3 % between 2022 and 2032, adding close to 4.7 million jobs, with employment rising to 169.1 million. Between 2022 and 2032, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that healthcare support occupations will grow most rapidly (by 15 %).
Jobs in STEM-related occupations are also expected to expand significantly, by 11 %. The wider adoption of AI and other technologies, the continuing digitalization of the US economy, and the rise in cyberattacks and data breaches on US businesses and governments are expected to lead to a greater demand for STEM workers in the coming years. These two fast-growing occupational groups currently rely heavily on immigrant-origin workers: 38 % of STEM workers and 34 % of health-care support workers were of immigrant origins in 2023.
A press release issued by MPI points highlights the key findings of the study:
- Broad segments of the immigrant-origin adult population are well-positioned to participate in a future labor market that will require a higher level of education and skill. As of 2023, 75% or more of Asian American and Pacific Islander, Black and White adults who are the US-born children of immigrants (in other words the second immigrant generation) had at least some post-secondary education. By contrast, fewer than 60 % of Latino adults who are immigrants (first generation) or second generation had any post-secondary education, as was the case for 62 % of Black immigrants. Recently arrived immigrants (those entering in 2020 or later) may be among the best prepared for the college attainment requirements of future jobs: 41 % held a bachelor’s degree or higher, as compared to 36 % of the third-and-higher generation (those born in the
United States to US-born parents). These adults will be well positioned to pursue jobs in fast-growing, high-skilled STEM occupations. - Even occupations that have long employed large shares of people without post-secondary education and training—such as health-care support, food and personal services, and some blue-collar jobs—will require higher levels of education in the next decade. While immigrant-origin adults made up 29 % of all workers in 2023, they represented 36 % of those in food and personal services occupations and 34 % in health-care support and blue-collar occupations. Among the 29.8 million immigrant-origin adults without post-secondary education or training, many are first-generation immigrants who would need to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent before considering post-secondary options.
- To support the ongoing growth of the US economy, many workers—immigrant-origin and otherwise—will need to upskill or retrain to acquire in-demand credentials and competencies or strengthen their general skills and digital literacy. Such efforts could include policies and programs to reduce barriers that affect all workers seeking to increase their skills.
“In an economy marked as much by its growth as by wide, sustained mismatches between the skills workers have and those employers need, policymakers will need to ensure that more workers across the immigrant generation, gender, racial and ethnic and other groups… are equipped for the increasingly demanding jobs of the future,” state MPI’s analysts.