New Americans in Portland, Maine

A new report from New American Economy shows that immigrants in the Portland, ME metro area contributed $1.2 billion to the area’s GDP in 2016 and paid $133 million in federal taxes and $62 million in state and local taxes. The report, New Americans in Portland, ME, was developed in partnership with the Portland Office of Economic Opportunity and the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to their financial contributions, the new report outlines the important role immigrants and refugees play in the Portland labor force and as drivers of population growth. In the City of Portland and the surrounding area, the foreign-born population accounted for more than 75 percent of population growth from 2011 to 2016. And in the metro area, though they make up just 4.6 percent of the population, immigrants account for 5.1 percent of the working-age population and 6 percent of all workers in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) fields, industries where Maine is facing significant labor shortages. In fact, there are 11 open STEM positions for every one unemployed STEM worker. The report also shows that immigrants in the Portland metro area fill key jobs on across the skills spectrum, from teachers to housekeepers.

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