- Fact Sheet
The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Ohio’s Workforce
Modified
Published
New research from the American Immigration Council, The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Ohio’s Workforce, highlights the crucial and outsized role immigrants in Ohio are playing to help fill workforce shortages across the manufacturing, healthcare, STEM, and education fields. Immigrants in the Buckeye state help strengthen the labor force, even amidst disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, labor shortages, and supply-chain disruptions to the local, state, and national economies. If Ohio is to meet the growing demands of the labor market to benefit all Ohioans, the state must create policies and welcoming strategies that ensure immigrants can thrive and fully participate in the economy.
Key findings from the report include:
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Immigrants are helping meet the demand for workers in the Buckeye state. From 2017 to 2021, the number of online job postings increased by 84.0 percent. Despite making up 4.7 percent of the Ohio population, immigrants comprised 5.7 percent of the workforce, 12.9 percent of STEM workers, 23.1 percent of postsecondary teachers, and 24.7 percent of physicians.
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Immigrants play a key role in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs, a key economic driver in Ohio. From 2015 to 2019, the average share of workers who were immigrants as physical scientists was 22.7 percent, 18.4 percent were life scientists, and 11.3 percent were engineers.
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Immigrants help fill the growing need for bilingual and culturally competent workers. Demand for bilingual workers across critical fields like healthcare, social work, and education also increased in 2019. Immigrants bring skills that can contribute to these growing workforce needs, already comprising 7.1 percent of dentists, 13.6 percent of home healthcare aides, and 2.0 percent of social workers.