New research from the American Immigration Council underscores the crucial role that immigrants play in Ohio’s economy, filling jobs in critical industries, strengthening the workforce, and contributing billions in taxes each year. The new report was prepared in partnership with Ohio Business for Immigration Solutions — a statewide business coalition powered by the American Immigration Council with over 100 members.
Key Findings
- Immigrants are helping fill Ohio’s workplace shortages and will help meet future needs. From 2019 to 2024, the number of overall online job postings increased by 8.2 percent. In 2023, 75.5 percent of immigrants were active in the labor force. That same year, immigrants were 29.4 percent more likely to be of working age than their U.S.-born counterparts – demonstrating that immigrants are already meeting a growing demand for workers and are poised to continue to be active contributors to the workforce.
- Immigrants in Ohio contributed billions in taxes and consumer spending. In 2023, immigrants earned $27.3 billion in income and paid $7.3 billion in taxes, leaving $20 billion in spending power that supports local businesses and communities. That spending by immigrant households helps fuel growth and keeps local economic corridors vibrant.
- Immigrants are uniquely positioned to meet critical multilingual needs in the workforce. From 2019 to 2024, the number of online job postings that required or prioritized bilingual skills in Ohio increased by 39.2 percent. Immigrants often have multilingual skills, enabling them to fill those positions.
- Ohio is underutilizing its immigrant talent. Many immigrants with specialized training and skills gained abroad are unable to work in their fields, due to barriers like relicensing and language proficiency. As a result, in 2023, 43.7 percent of immigrants with a college education were working in jobs that did not require a college degree.
Read the press release to learn more.
