Data shows immigrants important segment of rural workforce

In examining previously published research, the Kaiser Family Foundation issued a recent “data note” that analyzes if, and to what extent, immigrants contribute to the economy in U.S. rural areas. Although immigrant adults comprise only 5% of both the rural adult population and rural adult workforce, they hold a disproportionate share of certain occupations, such as agriculture workers (28%), physicians (14%), and construction workers (10%). Nonetheless, among them, noncitizen immigrant workers in rural areas are more likely to have lower incomes and be uninsured.