The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta ranked 12th among metropolitan areas nationwide in 2012 for its number of working-age residents with limited English skills at 306,060, according to a new report that recommends expanding English lessons for them.
That represents 8.4 percent of all people of working age in the Atlanta region, says the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program report, which is based on census data. The report also shows:
• Nearly one in 10 working-age men and women – 19.2 million people between 16 and 64 years old – is considered “limited English proficient,” or LEP.
• Two-thirds of them speak Spanish. And most are immigrants.
• They earn 25 percent to 40 percent less than those who are English proficient.
“Given the large number of LEP workers in the United States and the fact that virtually all of the growth in the U.S. labor force over the next four decades is projected to come from immigrants and their children, it is in our collective interest to tackle this challenge head on,” said Jill H. Wilson, the report’s author.
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