Francesc Ortega, the Dina Axelrad Perry Professor of Economics at Queens College (CUNY), has dedicated his career to both the study of immigration and climate change, two pressing issues in contemporary American and global life. Ortega analyzes data sets that can illuminate real-world patterns, and ultimately, influence public policy.
He has examined how undocumented workers contribute to the U.S. economy at about 3% of GDP, a significant number. In New York City alone, immigrant contribution to the GDP is 45% of $584 Billion (in 2017). 1.9 Million immigrant workers comprise 46% of the employed in the city. And immigrants are 26% of the 58,000 artists in the city.
A native of Spain, Francesc Ortega completed his PhD at New York University. He’s been a Queens College Faculty Member since 2012. His research is on the economics of immigration, focusing on labor market effects, the effects of skilled visas on innovation and productivity, the economic consequences of the legalization of undocumented workers. Professor Ortega’s research has been published in top economics journals and has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.
1. Immigrant Density
- Share of foreign-born in NYC is almost 3 times the national average
- Across boroughs, share of foreign-born ranges from 24% in SI to 47% in Queens
2. Employment by Industry
- Over 1.9 Million immigrant workers, that is 46% of employment in NYC
- In many industries immigrants account for the majority of workers: Eating & Drinking establishments, Construction and Health Services
- Immigrants are 26% of the 58,000 artists in the city
3. Education
- Immigrant workers have lower education, on average than US-born workers
- But the immigrant share among workers with PhDs is close to their share in the workforce
4. Wage Income
- Immigrants earn over $95 Billion in wage income every year
- On average immigrant workers without a college degree earn $32,599 and those with a college degree earn $80,479
5. GDP
- NYC’s GDP (in 2017) was $584 Billion
- Immigrant’s account for 45% of this
- Without them the city’s GDP would fall by $251 Billion
These maps and charts show the change in the percentage and composition of the population born abroad living in NYC in 1970 and 2019 based upon Census reports. The 1970 data include many of the Northern and Western European origins, but for Asia and Latin America, most countries are not distinguished. For the data for 2019 (Drawn from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey, most counties are identified. To maintain comparability the foreign-born origins were combined in compatible ways for both periods. The data were provided by Census tracts. They were combined into New York City’s sub-boroughs or PUMAs, which except in four cases are almost identical to Community Planning Districts.
The analysis of these data was done by Andrew A. Beveridge, Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Co-Founder of Social Explorer.
Professor Andrew A. Beveridge is a longtime scholar and demographic expert. He is a professor of Sociology-Emeritus at Queens College and the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. Andrew is a leader in the demography field and regularly analyzes and presents maps and data for a variety of audiences, including expert testimony in many state and federal court cases related to civil rights litigation.
Since 1993, Andrew has been a consultant to the New York Times, which has cited him and Social Explorer over 1,500 times. Grant and fellowship support includes the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He won the 2007 Public Understanding of Sociology Award from the American Sociological Association for his contributions to the field and development of Social Explorer. He received his B.A., M. Phil. and Ph.D. from Yale University.
