As Nebraska seeks ways to address a workforce shortage, a new report outlines the important role that immigrants play in the economic landscape.
The report published this month by the Immigration Research Initiative, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group looking at issues of economic, social and cultural inclusion of immigrants in the U.S., notes that immigrants have been able to find at least moderate success in the American economic landscape. Disproportionate numbers of immigrants, however, struggle to make ends meet in low-wage jobs.
There are 100,000 immigrants living and working in Nebraska, who combined represent 9% of the state’s labor force and contribute 8% to the state’s economic output, according to the report.
Immigrants work in jobs across the economic spectrum, contributing to their communities by shopping in local stores, paying payroll taxes and giving to local churches and charities.
Nationwide, immigrants account for 17% of the U.S. economic output. A little over one-third, according to the report, are in low-wage jobs. In Nebraska, 37% of immigrants are low-wage earners, most of them working in service or production jobs.
“Two things are true at once,” said Anthony Capote, co-author of the report and senior policy fellow of Immigration Research Initiative. “On the one hand, a disproportionate number of immigrants are paid less than it costs to survive in the U.S. economy, despite many working in jobs that we all rely on. And on the other hand, immigrants are a robust part of the economy in a wide-range of middle- and upper-wage jobs.”
The findings, Capote noted, highlight the need for more inclusive and targeted policies to improve opportunities for those who choose to move their families here to provide a better life for their children.
Opportunities exist in Nebraska, where experts cite the significant need for workers if the state is to grow its economy. Last month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City noted how in recent years, reduced immigration has contributed to slower labor force growth in Nebraska.
Between 1991 and 2015, immigration to the state increased by approximately 5% per year, according to the Census Bureau. Beginning in 2017, however, immigration to Nebraska, as well as the nation overall, began to fall. Had Nebraska continued to add residents from abroad at the same rate prior to 2015, its population would have increased by 19,000 people by 2022, helping to fill jobs critical to growing the state’s economy.