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By Jeanne Batalova
Immigrants comprise a critical element of the U.S. health-care system, filling nearly 2.8 million positions as of 2021. The foreign born represent disproportionately high shares of physicians, surgeons, and home health aides.
Yet many well-educated health professionals are being underutilized. The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates that 270,000 immigrants with a college degree in medical and health sciences and services were working in lower-skilled jobs—such as registered nurses working as health aides—or were out of work.
This article offers a demographic and socioeconomic profile of foreign-born workers in health care.
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By Jeanne Batalova
Immigrants comprise a critical element of the U.S. health-care system, filling nearly 2.8 million positions as of 2021. The foreign born represent disproportionately high shares of physicians, surgeons, and home health aides.
Yet many well-educated health professionals are being underutilized. The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates that 270,000 immigrants with a college degree in medical and health sciences and services were working in lower-skilled jobs—such as registered nurses working as health aides—or were out of work.
This article offers a demographic and socioeconomic profile of foreign-born workers in health care.
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Table 1. Civilian Employed Workers (ages 16 and older) and Health-Care Workers, by Occupational Group and Nativity, 2021
Note: The estimates of health-care workers here refer to their numbers by occupation, regardless of their industry of employment (many occupations can span several industries).
Source: Migration Policy Institute (MPI) tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2021 American Community Survey (ACS).
KJ
