Immigrant workers are overrepresented among STEM fields and agricultural sectors both in Wisconsin and across other states bordering the Great Lakes.
That’s one finding from a new report, “Building Community and Fueling Growth: The Role of Immigrants in Reviving the Great Lakes Region.” It was released this week by the American Immigration Council and Upwardly Global, a national organization that helps immigrants, refugees and asylees engage with the U.S. economy.
The report argues immigrants are “fueling economic growth” and supporting communities across Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York. It includes a number of data points to illustrate the economic impact and contributions of immigrants across this region.
“Immigrants aren’t just fueling our economy — they are voters, homeowners, and entrepreneurs who keep our communities running … we see firsthand how their contributions go beyond the numbers; they’re stabilizing neighborhoods, opening new businesses, and shaping the political future of swing states in the Great Lakes region,” said Jina Krause-Vilmar, president and CEO of Upwardly Global.
As of 2022, 4.9% of Wisconsin’s population were immigrants, according to figures provided by the report’s authors. While they made up 5.9% of the state’s labor force, they represented 9.5% of STEM workers and 11.1% of agricultural workers in Wisconsin.
Across the region analyzed in the report, immigrants made up 7.8% of the population while making up 16.4% of the STEM workforce and 9% of all ag workers, the report shows. That last percentage rises to 21% when restricted to farm employees, such as field crop workers and livestock workers.
The report also highlights immigrants’ outsized impact on some of Wisconsin’s key industries such as food production and health care. Across the study region, immigrants held 42.5% of meat processing jobs and 30.8% of hand-packing jobs, authors found. And immigrants made up 27.8% of the region’s doctors, 20.6% of its surgeons and 17% of its dentists and personal care aides — all well above their share of the population.
Report authors note the region had 14 job postings in health care for every unemployed worker in 2022, as rising need for health care services is driven by an aging population. Between 2010 and 2022, the number of immigrants worked as registered nurses in the region rose 49.1%. Immigrants also made up 12.7% of home health aides and 16.7% of personal care aides across the study region in 2022.
“With more people living longer, and more choosing to age in place, the need for home health aides will continue to spike,” report authors wrote. “Immigrants are increasingly stepping in, again doing well above their share to ease shortages.”
See the report.
