America’s biggest workforce backbone? 5.6 million immigrants running hospitals and classrooms

The report, conducted by the Law Offices of James A. Welcome using Current Population Survey data, found that immigrant workers are now deeply embedded across nearly every major sector of the American economy, far beyond traditional industries like construction, agriculture, and hospitality.

In total, educational and health services employed 5.56 million immigrant workers last year. That equals 17,373 workers per 100,000 immigrants in the labour force, nearly double the rate recorded in construction. “These are teachers in American classrooms, nurses on hospital floors, physicians in emergency rooms, and home health aides in long-term care facilities across every state,” the report said.

The findings come as the US healthcare system continues to face major staffing shortages. The report cited Bureau of Labor Statistics projections showing healthcare support occupations alone will require an additional 275,000 workers by 2033.

Healthcare and education systems

The study said America’s growing dependence on immigrant labour in healthcare and education developed over time as domestic labour pipelines failed to keep pace with demand.

Nursing schools have struggled to produce enough graduates, while medical schools continue to fall short in training enough physicians. Teacher shortages also remain a problem across several states.

Many immigrants entering the workforce already possess professional training, degrees, and licenses before arriving in the United States, helping fill critical gaps across hospitals, schools, clinics, and long-term care facilities.

The report noted that immigrant workers now hold positions across every level of healthcare and education, ranging from home health aides and nursing assistants to surgeons, professors, physicians, and teachers. “In most markets, they are the workforce,” the study stated.

Immigrants are increasingly working in professional and corporate roles

The study found that professional and business services ranked as the second-largest employer of immigrant workers in America. Around 4.73 million first-generation immigrants worked in professional and business services in 2024, equal to 14,767 workers per 100,000 immigrants. The report said this was nearly 57% higher than construction. “These are lawyers, accountants, management consultants, and corporate strategists filling some of the highest-value roles in the American economy,” the report said.

The financial sector also showed a strong immigrant workforce presence, employing around 1.59 million immigrant workers across banking, insurance, real estate, and investment management. The report stressed that many of these jobs require advanced education, professional licensing, and specialised training, directly challenging the idea that immigrant labor is mostly low-skilled.

The report also pointed to the growing role of immigrants in science, engineering, and technology jobs. According to the findings, nearly 2.84 million immigrant workers were employed in computer, engineering, and science occupations in 2024. These included software engineers, biomedical researchers, aerospace engineers, and data scientists.

The study said immigrant workers now make up 27% of employees in computer and mathematical occupations in the United States. “American technology is heavily reliant on immigrant workers,” the report stated. It also found that immigrants represented 25.8% of doctorate holders in the US labour force in 2024, up sharply from 16.4% in 1994.

Immigrant workers are also employed inside US government agencies

One of the report’s most surprising findings involved public administration jobs. More than 814,300 first-generation immigrants were employed inside US government agencies and public organisations in 2024. “This is the most counterintuitive data point in the entire dataset,” the report said. “At a time when federal immigration enforcement is accelerating, the data shows that 814,300 of the workers in the crosshairs of that enforcement are employed inside the very government system those policies run through.”

Nearly one in five American workers is now foreign-born

The study found that immigrants now make up almost 20% of the entire US labour force. In 2024, around 32 million first-generation immigrants were part of the American workforce out of a total labour force of 161.1 million people. That marks a sharp rise from 15.6% in 2010. Among them, 26.2 million held full-time jobs, while 4.6 million worked part-time. Another 1.3 million were actively seeking employment. The South recorded the highest raw number of immigrant workers at 12.1 million, while the West had the highest concentration overall, with immigrants making up 24.4% of the regional workforce.

Immigrant workers continue to face wage gaps

Regardless of their growing contribution across critical sectors, immigrant workers continue to earn less than native-born workers, the study found. First-generation immigrants earned a median annual income of $52,130 in 2023, nearly $10,000 lower than the overall US median wage of $62,088. The wage gap was even wider for immigrant women, whose median annual earnings stood at $50,040. The report said the disparity continues due to barriers including licensing restrictions, educational credential recognition issues, language challenges, and structural disadvantages in the labor market.

Study says immigration debate overlooks economic reality

The report says that the national immigration debate often ignores how dependent the American economy has become on immigrant labour. From hospitals and classrooms to financial firms, government agencies, and tech companies, immigrant workers are now spread across the full spectrum of the US economy. “Ultimately, the data confirms that the immigrant workforce is both indispensable and undercompensated,” the report concluded. “As staff shortages become increasingly urgent, immigrant workers will become even more key to helping the U.S. keep its industries working optimally.”