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By the numbers: Immigrants are key to New Hampshire's labor force growth

Brian Gottlob, Director of New Hampshire’s Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau, presents information about immigrants in the state's labor force at the 2024 Songa Conference at the Grapponne Conference Center in Concord on Nov. 20, 2024.
Lau Guzmán
/
NHPR
Brian Gottlob, Director of New Hampshire’s Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau, presents information about immigrants in the state's labor force at the 2024 Songa Conference at the Grapponne Conference Center in Concord on Nov. 20, 2024.

New England’s population growth is being driven by people who move from another state or another country. This is especially the case for New Hampshire, which has more international migration than neighboring Maine and Vermont. Census data shows that this has been a key source of growth for the state’s labor force, especially for fields facing shortages, like manufacturing, healthcare and computer engineering.

Any changes in immigration policy in the upcoming Trump administration could impact the state’s labor force, especially for workers who haven’t become citizens yet, according to Brian Gottlob, Director of New Hampshire’s Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau.

“If [immigration] is restricted or slows down for whatever reasons, either by individual choice or by public policies, it could have some detrimental impact on labor force growth,” he said.

Gottlob analyzed five years’ worth of workforce data in New Hampshire and presented it at a conference in November. He said foreign-born workers earned about $4.6 billion between 2018 and 2022, about 7% of the state’s household earnings. From that, non-citizens earned $1.5 billion, which could have a long-term economic impact if immigration policy changes.

“When you think about the possibilities in terms of immigration policy; what would happen if we lost $1.4 billion in earnings? That would be a pretty significant hit,” he said at the conference. “Not to say that all of that would happen, or even a large percentage, but even some percentage of it would have an impact overall on the New Hampshire economy.”

In general, Gottlob said that people born outside of the U.S. are about 6% of the state’s population but 7% of its workforce. They are also more likely to be in the labor force and employed than native born residents. However, they have a slightly higher unemployment rate because of the industries they work in – although it’s still lower than the national unemployment rate.

He added that foreign-born workers are also more likely to be in early or mid-career and have an advanced college degree.

Although international migration has slowed since the pandemic, Gottlob has also noticed a growth in the number of New Hampshire workers who are working with H-2b visas in the past five or six years.

He added that many of these H-2b workers don’t have specialized skills, but are essential in industries like hospitality, landscaping and construction that have been facing shortages since the pandemic.

“That number has more than doubled in the last few years, which says how important that visa program is to some of our key industries,” he said.

I cover Latino and immigrant communities at NHPR. My goal is to report stories for New Hampshire’s growing population of first and second generation immigrants, particularly folks from Latin America and the Caribbean. I hope to lower barriers to news for Spanish speakers by contributing to our WhatsApp news service,¿Qué Hay de Nuevo, New Hampshire? I also hope to keep the community informed with the latest on how to handle changing policy on the subjects they most care about – immigration, education, housing and health.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

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You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

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