For decades, the public conversation around immigration and work has focused on farms, construction sites and restaurant kitchens.
But new research from the Law Offices of James A. Welcome, a Connecticut-based immigration and personal injury law firm, suggests that picture is increasingly outdated.
Analyzing U.S. Census Bureau workforce data, the firm found that management, business and financial occupations now employ more first-generation immigrants than any other sector in the American workforce, surpassing construction, manufacturing, transportation and food service.
The findings challenge some of the most persistent assumptions about where immigrants work and raise broader questions about how dependent the U.S. economy has become on foreign-born talent.
Researchers found that approximately 4.15 million first-generation immigrants currently work in management, business and financial occupations, making it the largest occupational category among immigrant workers in 2024. Construction, often considered the defining immigrant labor sector, ranked second with 2.99 million workers. Transportation and material moving followed closely behind with 2.91 million workers.
The scale of immigrant participation in professional occupations is striking.
Management, business and finance alone employ more immigrant workers than construction by more than one million people. These are executives, financial analysts, accountants, operations managers and business leaders working across virtually every major industry in the country.
The findings suggest immigration is not simply a labor story. It is increasingly a leadership story.
The Talent Pipeline Behind the American Economy
The data arrives at a moment when employers across multiple industries continue to face hiring challenges, particularly in highly skilled occupations.
Technology companies continue competing aggressively for engineering talent. Healthcare providers face staffing shortages. Financial services firms are searching for experienced professionals. Manufacturers are attempting to expand domestic production while struggling to fill key positions.
Against that backdrop, the role of immigrant workers within the labor market appears far broader than many Americans realize.
The Law Offices of James A. Welcome found that nearly 2.84 million first-generation immigrants now work in computer, engineering and science occupations. That makes STEM the fourth-largest occupational category among immigrant workers nationwide.
The implications extend well beyond the technology sector.
Many of the industries expected to drive future economic growth — artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and clean energy — depend heavily on highly skilled workers. The data suggests immigrant workers already represent a significant share of that talent pool.
In computer and mathematical occupations alone, roughly 27% of workers are foreign-born. Researchers also found that the share of doctorate holders in the U.S. labor force who are foreign-born has increased from 16.4% in 1994 to 25.8% in 2024.
Those figures point toward a long-term trend that has quietly reshaped the American workforce over the past three decades.
Healthcare’s Dependence on Foreign-Born Workers
The findings also highlight the growing role immigrant workers play in healthcare.
According to the analysis, healthcare practitioner and technical occupations employ approximately 1.57 million first-generation immigrants. Another 1.3 million work in healthcare support roles, bringing the combined total to nearly 2.9 million workers.
These are physicians, nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians, nursing assistants and home healthcare workers who help keep hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities operating.
As the U.S. population ages and healthcare demand continues to grow, workforce shortages have become a major concern for providers nationwide.
Federal projections suggest hundreds of thousands of additional healthcare workers will be needed over the next decade. The research indicates that immigrant workers are already helping fill a significant portion of those gaps.
Beyond the Stereotypes
One of the most interesting findings in the research is how dramatically the data differs from public perception.
The occupations often associated with immigrant labor — agriculture, food service and construction — remain important parts of the workforce story.
However, the study found that occupations categorized as “surprising” by researchers, including management, STEM, healthcare and education, collectively employ more immigrant workers than the traditionally expected sectors combined.
In education, legal services and community support roles alone, more than 2 million first-generation immigrants are currently employed.
The numbers suggest that immigrant workers are not concentrated at the margins of the economy. They are increasingly embedded within its professional, technical and leadership infrastructure.
The Competitiveness Question
For business leaders, the findings raise an important question about the future of workforce development.
The United States continues to compete globally for skilled labor while simultaneously facing demographic pressures, an aging population and persistent labor shortages across key sectors.
Replacing millions of experienced workers through domestic training pipelines alone would require substantial investment and significant time.
The challenge becomes particularly acute in industries where expertise, education and credentials take years to acquire.
Management, STEM and healthcare occupations alone account for more than 10 million first-generation immigrant workers according to the research. Those are not positions that can be filled overnight.
As businesses continue investing in growth, innovation and productivity, access to skilled talent is likely to remain one of the defining economic issues of the next decade.
The latest workforce data suggests that immigration is already playing a much larger role in that conversation than many people assume.
Far from being concentrated in a handful of industries, immigrant workers are helping manage companies, build technology, deliver healthcare and lead organizations across the American economy.
Research source: https://welcomelawfirm.com/research/where-immigrants-are-working-in-america/