wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

News

New Report Measures Immigrants' Contribution to NYS Economy

by Marianne McCune

NEW YORK, NY November 26, 2007 —A new report on immigrants in New York State says they are more a part of the State’s middle class than is commonly thought. WNYC's Marianne McCune reports.

Here are some of the report’s more salient findings: immigrants make up a quarter of all CEOs who live in New York City, more than a third of architects, and half of accountants; upstate, where they make up only 5% of residents, immigrants are 20% of university professors and more than 35% of physicians and surgeons.

In New York's downstate suburbs, immigrants are 41% of registered nurses. Overall, the report says, immigrants make up about a fifth of the state's residents and are responsible for an equal portion of its gross domestic product. The report is by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a left-leaning research group focused on New York State’s economy.

It’s part of a larger effort by the New York Immigration Coalition to publicize the positive impacts of immigrants in the state.


Supported By