Report Offers Strategies to Strengthen Workforce Development in Seattle and Region

New OIRA report offers blueprint to improve workforce conditions and economic stability of all our residents – immigrants and native born alike

July 2024 – The City of Seattle and our region are deeply impacted by the extensive cultural and economic contributions of our immigrant and refugee communities who play a pivotal role in driving innovation and fostering growth. Despite global transitions into a post-pandemic landscape, challenges persist. These communities, integral to the fabric of our city, encounter unique barriers in accessing the labor market, ranging from language obstacles to credential recognition and legal complexities. Discrimination based on ethnicity, race, or immigration status further compounds their employment prospects. 

Facing these headwinds, the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) initiated the Regional Partnerships for Immigrant Integration and Workforce Development in the City of Seattle and King County report, researched and written by Glenn Davis with Progressive Workforce Strategies. This comprehensive initiative aims to pinpoint and address these challenges head-on, crafting tailored strategies to enhance our support programs, policies, and engagement efforts specifically for immigrants, refugees, and migrants. 
 

Download Our Report  

Full Report (PDF)

Executive Summary (PDF)

Five key questions addressed in our new report: 

• What is immigrant integration in our region and why is it vital to our economy and social development? 
• Who comprises our region’s diverse immigrant and refugee communities – where do they live and work and how well are they faring in our dynamic workforce?  
• What are the persistent structures that reproduce economic instability and social inequality for so many while also producing great wealth?  
• What is workforce development and who are the key players and funders in our region providing programs and services to our immigrant and refugee communities? 
• What more can be done by policy makers and workforce stakeholders to improve the conditions of the workforce and social conditions of immigrants and refugees in our region?

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OIRA’s report, Regional Partnerships for Immigrant Integration and Workforce Development in the City of Seattle and King County, aims to provide policymakers, workforce development stakeholders, and the public with a well-researched, fact-based understanding of the role and importance of immigrant integration and workforce development in our region. This comprehensive report reviews the history and origins of immigration in our region and provides an up-to-date picture of the current workforce and social conditions of various immigrant and refugee communities. 

Almost 550,000 residents in King County, Washington, were born outside of the United States – nearly one-fourth of our population – with Seattle alone home to over 140,000. From Kent to Bellevue, our regions’ diverse immigrant and refugee families live in every part of King County. Answering the call of persistent labor market demand, immigrant workers and professionals work in and earn income at all levels of wages and salaries in a range of essential occupations in every industry and sector in our regional economy. Immigrant small businesses owners play a vital role in cities and towns across King County boosting our regional economy as entrepreneurs, innovators, and job creators. 

This new report provides an overview of how our dynamic regional economy and society produce both great wealth and, simultaneously, insufficient incomes, educational disparities, and deep inequities for specific immigrant groups, people of color, women, and many U.S. born residents living in economically distressed communities – and what can be done about it. Regional Partnerships for Immigrant Integration and Workforce Development in the City of Seattle and King County takes a deep dive into analyzing just how well immigrant and refugee workers and professionals are faring in our regional workforce and, in comparison, to their U.S. born neighbors. The report also profiles the occupations in which immigrants are under-represented and offers workforce strategies for removing the barriers they face to career and social mobility.  

With input gathered through a series of interviews and dialogues with key workforce development leaders, this report offers recommendations for how the City of Seattle, the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, neighboring cities, King County, workforce agencies and education stakeholders, labor unions, and community organizations can work together in solidarity to improve the workforce conditions and economic stability of all our residents – immigrants and native born alike. 

About the Report's Author: Glenn Scott Davis the author of this report is the founder and principal of Progressive Workforce Strategies, a consulting firm that supports government and workforce development agencies, labor unions, community organizations, and training and education entities providing workforce development programs and services to job seekers, workers, and professionals across industry sectors. 

Glenn is the former Workforce Policy Specialist in the City of Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) and held various director and leadership positions in joint labor-management programs supported by the major healthcare employers and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). 

 
If you have questions about our report or would like to request a presentation around the report, please contact oira@seattle.gov.