English Proficiency and Labor Market Outcomes in New England

Osborne Jackson

No 26-2, New England Public Policy Center Research Report from Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Abstract: Proficiency in a country’s primary language is a skill that can be expected to improve labor market outcomes. Considering the United States specifically, individuals with strong English-language skills presumably could fare better in US labor markets compared with individuals who are less proficient in the language. These benefits potentially are most relevant for immigrants since their English proficiency may be lower on average than it is for natives. Given the importance of immigration to the economy of New England, where it plays a central role in population growth and where foreign-born persons comprise one-fifth of the labor force, the impact of increased English proficiency on labor market outcomes may be particularly relevant for the region.

Keywords: New England; English proficiency; labor market outcomes; language skills; earnings; immigration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 J30 J64 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27
Date: 2026-04-01
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/new-england ... nd-labor-market.aspx Summary (text/html)
https://www.bostonfed.org/-/media/Documents/Workin ... 2026/neppcrr2602.pdf Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fip:fedbcr:103017

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in New England Public Policy Center Research Report from Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Spozio ().