A robust job market has been boosted post-pandemic by the strength of America’s immigrant labor force. And as Americans withdraw from the workforce and birth rates remain low, economists and the Federal Reserve are touting the importance of immigrant workers to overall future economic growth.
Immigrant workers made up 18.6% of the labor force last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers are filling open positions in agriculture, technology and health care, fields where labor supply is a challenge for job seekers.
Even though the United States added fewer than expected jobs in April, the labor force participation rate for foreign-born workers rose slightly, to 66%.
“We don’t have enough workers participating in the labor force, and last year’s birth rate fell by 2% in 2022-23. … These people don’t take jobs. They are helping us strengthen and rebuild — adding needed workers to the workforce,” said Jennie Murray, CEO of the National Immigration Forum, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization.
The influx of immigrant workers also provides a projected boost to U.S. manufacturing growth, and gross domestic product is expected to grow by $7 trillion over the next decade, Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel noted in a February accompanying statement CBO Outlook for 2024-2034.
“The labor force in 2033 is 5.2 million more people, mainly due to higher net immigration. As a result of these changes in the workforce, we estimate that between 2023 and 2034, GDP will be approximately $7 trillion higher and revenues will be approximately $1 trillion higher than they would otherwise be. We continue to assess the impact of immigration on income and spending,” Swagel wrote.
“Huge competition”
Goodwin Living, a faith-based, nonprofit senior care facility in Northern Virginia that cares for 2,500 adults daily, relies heavily on immigrant workers. About 40% of the company’s 1,200 employees are foreign-born and represent 65 countries, according to CEO Rob Liebreich, and more workers will be needed to fill the growing gaps as Americans age and need support.
“About 70% of 65-year-olds are expected to need long-term care in the future. We need many hands to meet these needs,” Liebreich told CNBC. “Right now, one of the best ways to do that is with people coming from other countries, our global talent, and there is huge competition for them.”
In 2018, Goodwin launched a citizenship program that provides financial resources, mentorship and tutoring to employees seeking to become U.S. citizens. To date, 160 employees and 25 of their family members have obtained or are in the process of obtaining citizenship through Goodwin.
Wilner Vialer, 35, started working at Goodwin four years ago and serves as team leader for environmental services, preparing and cleaning premises. Vialer, who came to the U.S. 13 years ago from Haiti, lost his job during the pandemic and got an opportunity at Goodwin because his mother was employed there.
He applied for U.S. citizenship before taking his current job, but after six months on the job, the Goodwin Living Foundation covered his $725 application fee, the nonprofit said. Vialer became a U.S. citizen in 2021, and his 15-year-old daughter received a citizenship scholarship and became a U.S. citizen in 2023.
Vialer hopes his wife will join their family in Haiti, as they have been separated for six years.
“This program is a good opportunity,” Vialer said. “They support me, I have a family at home. … This job really does [does] support me when I get paid to support them get home.”
Employees are not required to stay at Goodwin once they become U.S. citizens, but those who do stay there 20% longer than those who don’t participate in the program, Liebreich said. He added that accelerating the path to citizenship is key to remaining competitive in the global economy.
“If we want to attract and retain the global workforce we desperately need, we need to make this process much easier,” Liebreich said.
In November, immigration will be a heated topic in the presidential campaign and among voters. Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have traveled to the southern border in recent months to deal with the vast number of migrants entering the country.
