One-Tenth of Massachusetts Workforce Has Limited-English Proficiency

An alarming new study from MassINC and the UMass Donahue Institute offers a sobering look at the Massachusetts education system's failure to prepare new migrants that continue to pour into the Commonwealth and those already here for jobs that can fuel the economy with tax revenue.

A report on the study's findings is entitled "Massachusetts Needs An Actionable Strategy To Expand ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Services."

"At last count, 480,000 working-age residents of Massachusetts had limited-English proficiency (LEP)," the report states. "This remarkably high figure represents one-tenth of the Commonwealth's workforce."

We may not know the entire story, however.

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"In Gateway Cities – the economic hubs of regional economies across the Commonwealth – close to 20 percent of working-age residents are LEP," the report states. "These 2022 census estimates likely undercount by a significant margin the actual number of LEP workers in Massachusetts today."

The report blames state and federal funding decisions that have not kept pace with the state's growing foreign-born and limited-English speaking population.

A Boston Herald analysis of the report says the findings represent "another challenge for an economy that continues to lose many taxpayers to other states with lower taxes and cost of living."

The report indicates that Gateway Cities such as New Bedford and Fall River fail to meet the needs of LEP adults by not providing enough ESOL seats to meet the demand.

A graphic on page nine of the report says New Bedford has fewer than 30 state-funded ESOL seats per 1,000 LEP adults.

The situation is worse in Fall River, where there are only about 12 seats per 1,000 LEP adults.

You can read the full 28-page report at the MassINC website.