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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Do immigrants take a significantly higher proportion of STEM jobs than in other parts of the economy?

By William Boger
NO

Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics definition of STEM fields, generally including jobs in science, technology, engineering, math, health and social sciences, foreign-born workers comprised about 19% of the sector's workforce when it was last measured, in 2015. In 2019, the BLS reported that immigrants to the U.S. made up about 17% of the country's total workforce.

Data from the Census Bureau excludes health and social science, resulting in a higher estimate for the foreign-born population in the STEM workforce of about 22%. The narrower census definition results in a STEM workforce of 8.1 million workers, about 5% of the total U.S. workforce in 2015. The wider classification including health fields expands the population to 20.4 million, 12.6% of the workforce.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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