(C) Common Dreams
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Building Community and Fueling Growth: The Role of Immigrants in Reviving the Great Lakes Region [1]
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Date: 2024-10-15 16:26:00-04:00
The Great Lakes region has long been an emblem of America’s industrial strength, anchoring the nation’s steel, auto, rubber, and other factories and at one point employing more than half of the country’s industrial workforce. As labor-intensive factory work moved south and overseas, however, then diminished due to automation, the “Rust Belt” became a symbol of America’s waning industrial dominance.
After decades of decline, the Great Lakes region is now showing signs of a revival. Population numbers are ticking upward. Home values in once-forlorn neighborhoods are rising. The manufacturing industry has been adding a considerable number of new jobs—including 412,800 jobs between 2010 and 2022. The healthcare industry—one of the region’s fastest-growing industries—added nearly a half million workers during this period. By 2022, the industry had 14 job postings for every one unemployed worker.
Immigrants are playing a pivotal—and growing—role in this revival. While many industries struggle with labor shortages, immigrants have taken on the hard-to-fill jobs, reinvigorating the regional workforce and supporting the economic growth in America’s former industrial heartland. By bolstering fast-growing industries like advanced manufacturing and healthcare, they are helping create more opportunities for communities and families that have lived in the area for generations.
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[1] Url:
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/building-community-and-fueling-growth-role-immigrants-reviving-great-lakes-region
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