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Immigrants in the Illinois Workforce | Mario Godoy | Chicago Immigration Lawyer

Immigrants in the Illinois Workforce

Immigrants are an integral part of the Illinois workforce in a range of occupations. Immigrants in the Illinois workforce have contributed billions of dollars in taxes, and immigrant entrepreneurs in Illinois generate billions of dollars in business revenue. The American Immigration Council has compiled state by state immigration data and states. Following is an excerpt from AIC Immigrants in Illinois Fact Sheet, you can download the complete report with citations here

Immigrants in the Illinois Workforce

One in six workers in Illinois is an immigrant, together making up an important part of the state’s labor force in a range of industries.

  • 1.2 million immigrant workers comprised 17.9% of the labor force in 2015.
  • Immigrant workers were most numerous in the following industries:

Industry

Number of Immigrant Workers

Manufacturing

229,025

Health Care and Social Assistance

156,964

Accommodation and Food Services

138,107

Retail Trade

121,769

Administrative & Support; Waste Management; and Remediation Services

97,043

Analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey 1-year PUMS data by the American Immigration Council.

  • The largest shares of immigrant workers were in the following industries:

Industry

Immigrant Share (%)
(of all industry workers)

Administrative & Support; Waste Management; and Remediation Services

27.2

Manufacturing

25.6

Accommodation and Food Services

24.5

Construction

22.3

Other Services (except Public Administration)

20.3

Analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey 1-year PUMS data by the American Immigration Council.

Immigrants are an integral part of the Illinois workforce in a range of occupations.

  • In 2015, immigrant workers were most numerous in the following occupation groups:

Occupation Category

Number of Immigrant Workers

Production

159,976

Transportation and Material Moving

126,768

Food Preparation and Serving Related

111,804

Office and Administrative Support

109,283

Sales and Related

103,265

Analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey 1-year PUMS data by the American Immigration Council.

  • The largest shares of immigrant workers were in the following occupation groups:

Occupation Category

Immigrant Share (%)
(of all workers in occupation)

Building and Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance

34.5

Production

32.1

Computer and Mathematical Sciences

27.4

Food Preparation and Serving Related

24.5

Life, Physical, and Social Sciences

24.3

Analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey 1-year PUMS data by the American Immigration Council.

  • 5% of Illinois’ workforce consisted of undocumented immigrants in 2014.

Immigrants in Illinois have contributed billions of dollars in taxes.

  • Immigrant-led households in the state paid $9.8 billion in federal taxes and $5.2 billion in state and local taxes in 2014.
  • Undocumented immigrants in Illinois paid an estimated $758.9 million in state and local taxes in 2014. Their contribution would rise to over $917.4 million if they could receive legal status.
  • DACA recipients in Illinois paid an estimated $131 million in state and local taxes in 2016.

As consumers, immigrants add tens of billions of dollars to Illinois’ economy.

  • Illinois residents in immigrant-led households had $40.1 billion in spending power (after-tax income) in 2014.

Immigrant entrepreneurs in Illinois generate billions of dollars in business revenue.

  • 119,404 immigrant business owners accounted for 21.3% of all self-employed Illinois residents in 2015 and generated more than $2.5 billion in business income.
  • In 2015, immigrants accounted for 20.3% of business owners in the Chicago/Naperville/Joliet metropolitan area (which stretches from Wisconsin to Indiana through Illinois) and 6.5% of business owners in the St. Louis metro area (which straddles Illinois and Missouri).

The immigration attorneys at Godoy Law Office in Chicago and Lombard can help you with your immigration case. If you need help with an immigration issue, please contact our office or call us at 855-554-3639.  

Mario Godoy
Mario Godoy
Immigration Lawyer and Illinois Crimmigration Attorney

Immigration Attorney Mario Godoy has years of experience guiding clients with immigration issues through the immigration process along with guiding clients through the criminal case. Godoy focuses on family-based immigration law, business immigration law, removal defense, and criminal defense representation of immigrants. A criminal charge or conviction can be devastating to your immigration case. With over a decade of immigration law experience and memories of family members who were deported due to bad legal advice, Godoy is committed to helping other immigrant families receive the legal justice they deserve. As a legal entrepreneur who practices immigration law, criminal law, estate and probate law, and running two successful law firms, Mario Godoy understands the importance of keeping families together and making a home and future in America.

Lead Counsel Rated
expertise
Illinois State Bar Association
American Immigration Lawyers Association
ASLA
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