The Importance of Immigration
Amid one of the tightest labor markets in recent memory, policymakers and businesses are exploring every possible way to expand their local and regional workforces. One source of workers that is increasingly being sought out by employers and policymakers are international immigrants. Among the benefits of international immigration is increased labor force participation. Nationwide, the labor force participation rate in 2020 for the foreign-born population sat at 66.5%, compared to 62.8% for the population born in the U.S. In Minnesota there was a similar gap, with a foreign-born labor force participation rate of 72.7% and a native-born labor force participation rate of 68.9%
The 2020 American Community Survey estimates put the Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA's foreign-born population at nearly 383,200 people. As such, over one-in-ten residents of the MSA (10.6%) were foreign-born persons. And this population has grown rapidly in recent years. Between the 2015 and 2020 5-year estimates, the MSA's foreign-born population expanded by 11.6%, equivalent to about 39,700 additional people.
While immigrants help boost the region's population, the immigrant population in Central Minnesota is unique compared to Minnesota as a whole, with a far smaller share from Asia and a larger share from both Africa and Latin America. The share of immigrants from Europe is roughly the same as the rate found statewide, representing one-in-ten immigrants in the region.
In Northeast Minnesota, in-migration – both domestic and international – has played an important role in slowing what has been a trend of population decline. In the region, there were more deaths than births, so without immigration, the regional population would have fallen another 2,500 people between 2010 and 2021.
While Northwest has enjoyed steady population growth since 2010 due to significant domestic in-migration, it has lagged the rest of the state in international in-migration. According to new data released by the Census Bureau, more than 5,000 residents have moved into the region from other parts of the state and surrounding states over the past 11 years, while only about 2,000 have moved into the region from other countries.
One potential source for workers that may alleviate some of the hiring strain employers are feeling is the foreign-born population. The most recent estimates from the American Community Survey show that there are over 34,000 foreign-born residents in Southeast Minnesota – a number that has increased by over 30% over the last 10 years, which was a faster rate of growth than was seen in the state as a whole.
International in-migration helped maintain population growth in the region since 2010 – without these new Minnesotans, the region would have actually lost population over the decade. With 10,125 residents, about half of the more than 20,000 foreign-born residents in Southwest Minnesota are from Latin America, while nearly 6,000 immigrants are from Asia after increasing more than 63% from 2010. But the fastest in-migration into the region happened from Africa.
The Regional Analysis & Outreach team is excited to be offering a series of both virtual and in-person workshops in May, June, and July on utilizing our Labor Market Information tools. Registration for the workshops is now open and is as easy as clicking on the link for the class and filling out the registration form.
These 1.5-to-3-hour hands-on training sessions will help attendees learn where to find and how to use DEED's labor market information. Attendees will navigate our website and learn how to use the most relevant data tools to understand the local economy and provide the best guidance to jobseekers and other clients. These are great sessions for CareerForce staff and partners in the workforce development system to attend for the first time or as a refresher.
Please reach out to your regional analyst if you or your staff would be interested in having a customized LMI training session. We would be happy to accommodate your training requests, either on LMI Data Tools or local economic conditions!
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