New Research Shows Texas Immigrants Accounted for Over 20 Percent of Workforce Across Several Leading Industries

AUSTIN, TX – New research on The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Texas released today by Texans for Economic Growth–a statewide 125+-member business coalition powered by the American Immigration Council–in partnership with the Texas Association of Business and the Texas Business Leadership Council underscores the crucial role immigrants in Texas play in some of the state’s fastest growing and most in demand fields.

“Workforce is one of the top issues for businesses across our state. We need to do everything we can to ensure we have the right immigration policies in place so that some of the hardest working people on the planet can come to the U.S. and contribute to our economy,” said Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business. “This report illustrates the tremendous contributions immigrant workers make in Texas and that our economy heavily relies on them.”

Justin Yancy, president of the Texas Business Leadership Council (TBLC) added,

“The TBLC is proud to partner with the American Immigration Council (the Council) in highlighting the importance of immigration reform, especially as it relates to our state and nation’s economic prosperity. According to the Council, immigrants make up more than 13% of healthcare workers—one of the most in-demand career fields in the country. In Texas, according to this new report, we have seen a 91% increase in job postings for healthcare professionals and a 265% increase in posts requesting bilingual skills. Texas is in critical need of qualified, bilingual healthcare professionals, and immigrants to our country — whether they are holding a visa, are a DACA recipient, or a newly naturalized U.S. citizen — are helping to relieve this labor shortage.”

Key findings:

• Growth in the immigrant population has helped strengthen the Texas labor force. In 2019, immigrants in Texas comprised 17.1 percent of the population, but 21.9 percent of the state’s overall workforce. As of 2021, there were 7.1 million Texans aged 55 and older expected to retire in the next decade.
• The Texas economy continues to expand, with job postings more than doubling from 1.85 million in 2017 to 3.84 million in 2021. Immigrants will be crucial to meeting demand in the sectors that power the Texas economy.
• Manufacturing is a key economic driver in Texas. In 2019, the economic output of the state’s manufacturing sector was larger than the manufacturing GDP of either Russia or Mexico, and of Portugal’s entire national economy. The greatest number of online job postings in 2021 was for production workers; postings tripled from 7,508 to 23,010 in five years. In 2019, immigrants made up 28.3 percent of all production workers in Texas.
• Job postings in the healthcare industry increased by 90.9 percent from 2017 to 2021, and job postings for healthcare occupations that requested bilingual workers grew by 264.6 percent. In 2019 20.4 percent of registered nurses (RNs), 14.5 percent of licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and 28.7 percent of home healthcare aides were immigrants.
• Immigrants play a critical role in easing teacher shortages. From 2017 to 2021, online job postings for teachers and teaching assistants in Texas K-12 schools doubled. During that same period, online job postings for K-12 teachers and educational support occupations that listed bilingual skills grew by 158.1 percent.

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For more information, contact:

Maria Frausto at the American Immigration Council at [email protected] or 202-507-7526; Katie Greer, Texas Association of Business at [email protected] or 512-637-7735; and Mike Joyce, Texas Business Leadership Council at [email protected] or 512-481-0525.