The strong post-pandemic job market has been supported by the strength of America’s immigrant workforce. And as the American workforce ages and birth rates remain low, economists and the Federal Reserve are touting the importance of immigrant workers to future overall economic growth.
Immigrant workers made up 18.6% of the workforce last year, a new record, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers are filling open positions in agriculture, technology, and health care, where labor supply is a challenge for those seeking employment.
Even though the U.S. added fewer jobs than expected in April, the labor force participation rate among foreign-born workers rose slightly to 66%.
“We have a shortage of workers to join the workforce, and the birth rate fell by 2% last year from 2022 to 2023. … These people are not taking jobs away. They are taking our jobs away. They are adding essential workers to the workforce,” said Jenny Murray, CEO of the National Immigration Forum, a nonpartisan nonprofit advocacy group.
An influx of immigrant workers is also expected to contribute to increased U.S. production, which is expected to add $7 trillion to the gross domestic product over the next decade, Congressional Budget Office Director Philip Swagel said from 2024 to 2034. This was said in a February statement accompanying the CBO outlook for 2020.
“The labor force will grow by 5.2 million people in 2033, primarily due to net immigration growth. As a result of these workforce changes, GDP will increase by approximately $7 trillion from 2023 to 2034, and revenues will increase by approximately $7 trillion. is expected to be about $7 trillion higher than it would otherwise have been,” Swagel wrote.
“Huge competition”
Goodwin Living, a faith-based, nonprofit senior care facility in northern Virginia that cares for 2,500 adults each day, relies heavily on immigrant workers. CEO Rob Liebreich said about 40% of the company’s 1,200 employees are foreign-born, representing 65 countries, and the gap will grow as Americans age and need more help. It will require many workers.
“About 70% of 65-year-olds will need long-term care in the future, and we need a lot of people to support those needs,”. “Right now, one of the best ways to find that is to tap into people coming from other countries, our global talent, but there’s a lot of competition to get them.”
In 2018, Goodwin launched a citizenship program that provides resources, mentorship, and tutoring to workers seeking U.S. citizenship. So far, 160 workers and 25 of their family members have obtained or are in the process of obtaining citizenship through Goodwin.
Wilner Beiler, 35, started working at Goodwin four years ago and is the environmental services team leader, responsible for preparing and cleaning rooms. Beiler, who came to the United States from Haiti 13 years ago, lost his job during the pandemic and was offered the opportunity at Goodwin because his mother worked at a Goodwin facility.
The nonprofit said he applied for U.S. citizenship before taking his current job, but after working there for six months, the Goodwin Living Foundation covered the $725 application fee. Vierer said she will become a U.S. citizen in 2021, and her 15-year-old daughter will become a U.S. citizen in 2023 following her citizenship grant.
Vialer’s hope is to welcome his wife from Haiti into his family after six years of separation.
“This program is a great opportunity,” Beiler said. “They help me, I have a family at home. … This job is really [does] Please support me when you get paid to help them return home. ”
Workers are not required to work for Goodwin after becoming U.S. citizens, Liebreich said, but those who stay stay 20 percent longer than those who don’t participate in the program. He added that accelerating the path to citizenship is key to remaining competitive in the global economy.
“If we want to attract and retain this global workforce that we so desperately need, we need to make the process much simpler,” Liebreich said.
Immigration will be a hot topic for presidential campaigns and voters heading into November. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have visited the southern border in recent months to deal with the large number of migrants entering the country.
