New Americans, non-natives or immigrants residing legally in the US, make up 17% of the nation’s workforce which highlights them as a key segment. Their contribution in businesses revitalization, tax revenue generation and filling in retiring occupations cannot be denied. Since the country is nearing demographic crossroads, businesses need to realize the vitality of hiring New Americans for economic growth, sustainability and competitiveness. Here are a few reasons justifying why businesses should hire New Americans:
Hiring New Americans bolsters global competitiveness
United States is recognized as the land enduring the most talented non-native New Americans. The competitor countries like Australia and Canada are on the verge to outcompete US by attracting non-native talent. In such case, US based business firms should consider hiring New Americans in order to retain the talent and sustain the global competitiveness. According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 30 such occupations which are forecasted to grow from 2014 to 2024 and includes the fields like personal care, health aids, nursing, software development, construction, maintenance and many more. Business firms need to utilize skills, knowledge and expertise of New Americans in order to cater the projected demand.
New Americans are economic contributors
New Americans fill in jobs which are significant for the sustainability of economy. According to US Bureau of Labor statistics (2018), the rate of labor force participation for non-natives is recorded to be 65.7% which is more than the participation rate of Native Americans and justifies the importance of their hiring for the US economy. Likewise, the contribution of non-natives as both tax payers and consumers is indispensable for the United States. The latest statistics have indicated that the spending power and tax contribution of immigrants legally residing in the US has reached to $9.4 billion and $4billion respectively. Businesses, now a days, need to realize that hiring new Americans specifically in the fields of professional services, manufacturing, wholesale trade and transportation is necessary for their economic progression and growth.
Workforce diversity, Adaptability and Resilience
Workforce diversity is the key to economic strength and success of businesses. In the prevailing competitiveness environment, hiring new Americans not only promotes diversity but also helps businesses to serve both locally and internationally. New Americans contribute through their effective multi-lingual skills. They have a different insight towards various business prospects and circumstances due to their prior cross-cultural knowledge and exposure. Besides that, they are adaptable to changing business environments, accept new challenges, work outside their comfort zone and are resilient to prove their worth in a new marketplace.
New Americans are innovative and result driven
New Americans are highly knowledgeable, skilled and innovative which is one of the reasons why most of the entrepreneurs and technology experts in Silicon Valley are non-natives immigrants or New Americans. Since the New Americans have a long way down the road to prove themselves in a new country like US, therefore, they are highly passionate and result oriented as compared to the Native Americans. It is also evidenced that among Fortune 500 companies, immigrants own 40% of them which authenticates the notion that New Americans fuel an environment of entrepreneurship.
New American fill the prevailing skills gap
US lacks highly skilled STEM professionals which creates a gap between the demand and available native talent. In order to compete globally, businesses can fill in this gap by hiring New Americans who are well versed in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The knowledge combined with international experience in a different culture opens up growth horizons for the US businesses to leverage the talent of foreign born and project competitive advantage of the.