CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. Dec. 3, 2009: Forget those who think immigrants are simply an added burden to Uncle Sam. A new report says that in the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, two thirds of all immigrants are responsible for a whopping 20 percent of economic output in those areas. By contrast, they also only make up just about 20 percent of these areas.
That`s the word from the Fiscal Policy Institute, which recently analyzed the contributions of immigrants to the economy of the United States. The report comes as immigrant advocates lobby for immigrants, both legal and undocumented, to be considered in the current health care reform bill and as the fight goes on for comprehensive immigration reform.
The areas surveyed in the `Immigrants and the Economy,` report were the key metropolitan areas with the greatest rise in immigrant share of the labor force such as New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, Miami, Phoenix, Dallas and Houston.
In metro New York, 54 percent of all guards, cleaning and building service workers, 60 percent of dental assistants, health and nursing aides and 54 percent of food service workers are immigrants while nearly half of the labor force in metro Miami is foreign-born, making it the most heavily immigrant workforce of the 25 largest metro areas in the United States.
Between 1990 and 2006, metro Atlanta experienced the biggest growth in immigrants` share of the labor force and the fastest growth in its overall economy, the report said.
Areas such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Detroit metro areas experienced the slowest increase in immigrant share of the labor force and among the smallest economic growth, according to the report.
The report`s authors also found that although immigrants are more likely to be in lower-wage service or blue-collar occupations, a quarter (24 percent) of immigrants in the 25 areas surveyed, work in managerial and professional occupations, and another quarter (25 percent) work in technical, sales, and administrative support.
`Immigrants are an important part of our economy,` commented Ray Marshall, former Secretary of Labor and a member of the advisory panel to the Fiscal Policy Institute`s Immigration Research Initiative. `This valuable report provides a solid basis for understanding the impact of immigration on our country`s metropolitan areas.`
Funding for the report was provided by 32BJ SEIU and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
