The number of US companies that hired Brazilian workers rose from 865 in 2022 to 1,271 last year 46.9%. Among the companies that most sought the national workforce are names such as Dakota Provisions, Microsoft, Google, Ground Fire, Amazon, McKinsey and Siemens.
The data are part of the 2024 edition of the “As Empresas do USA mais Contratam Brasileiros” survey, conducted annually by AG Immigration, a law firm specialized in green cards.
According to the numbers ¡collected from hundreds of thousands of new foreign hiring requests made to the US Department of Labor (6.7 thousand), Brazil was the seventh country with the most citizens going to work in the US in 2023. The list is led by India (26.6 thousand), China (6.7 thousand) and Mexico (2.1 thousand).
The study takes into account immigrants who have recently arrived in the U. S. as permanent residents, without considering those who obtained the green card document in previous years, those who have been working on a temporary basis, or cases where hiring communication to the Department of Labor is waived.
Leda Oliveira, CEO of AG Immigration, explains that the immigration flow to the US has intensified greatly in recent years, due to the shortage of labor in the American market and the low growth rate of the Brazilian economy. “The access to higher education in Brazil in the last two decades has also contributed to this phenomenon, especially with regard to hiring professionals with higher education”, he says.
In 2023, 28,050 Brazilians obtained the green card, which is the document that grants permanent residence to foreigners. It is the largest volume in history and the second consecutive record. Of these, just over 11 thousand went to professionals with extraordinary skills, which in general are those with high academic background or great recognition, national or international, in their area.
Companies That Hired Brazilians the Most
The animal protein production industry and the cleaning and conservation services branch were the ones that hired most Brazilians in 2023. The list is led by Dakota Provisions, a meat producer, which admitted 33 citizens of Brazil last year, all to the position of packers and packers.
Then comes the United Maintenance Company, which specializes in providing cleaning and janitorial services.The company hired 32 Brazilians to act as cleaners, janitors and chambermaids.Third position is West Liberty Foods, a company in the state of Iowa that produces beef and chicken protein and was responsible for opening 25 vacancies for Brazilians to work in the operation of their meat processing machines.
As has happened in other years, US technology companies also stood out among the ten that hire Brazilians. In 2023, for example, Google employed 17 professionals in the area, the vast majority of software developers and system analysts. It is the same situation as Microsoft, which took 18 workers to the same functions.
A name known to meat lovers also entered the ranking of US companies that hire more Brazilians. The Fogo de Chao steakhouse, which today has several units on American soil, took 13 professionals to work in Uncle Sam's Land, all for the position of chefs.
The survey also shows that most Brazilians (278) were hired to work in the state of Florida. Massachusetts (109), California (98), Texas (79) and New York (74) complete the top five destinations.
Educational Level of Brazilians in the USA
The AG Immigration survey showed that there was an increase in hiring Brazilians from all educational levels. According to the numbers, 635 of them had no training, 174 had only high school, 22 were technologists, 319 had graduation, 96 were masters and 24, doctors.
“Although lower-skilled jobs predominate, since there is much more demand for them, it is remarkable how the profile of the Brazilian migrating to America has changed in recent decades.They increasingly occupy positions that require specialized knowledge and training”, analyzes Leda.
Of Brazilians with higher education, the most common training was Business Administration, with 98 professionals with a degree in the area. Then appear Electrical Engineering (39), Computer Science (38), Mechanical Engineering (28) and Information Technology (26).
The survey by AG Immigration also revealed where these professionals graduated.As in previous years, the University of Sao Paulo topped the list, with 23 alumni hired by U. S. companies in 2023. Behind, are Faculdade Estacio (16), Unicamp (15), Unesp (13) and Mackenzie (12).
Salaries for Filling the Eyes
The highest salary identified by the survey, among Brazilians hired by US companies in 2023, was a doctor graduated from Gama Filho University, who went to work as a neurologist at Hartford Healthcare, a health company in Massachusetts. The specialist was admitted with a salary equivalent to R$ 328 thousand monthly, in the conversion of 5.25 reais for each dollar.
An ophthalmologist from Innovis Health (R$ 262 mil/month), a Goldman Sachs developer (R$ 131 mil/month), a Burger King financial manager (R$ 131 mil/month) and a Syngenta HR manager (R$ 120 mil/month) also stood out.
The lowest salary identified by the survey was for a nanny hired in Texas to earn R$ 7.6 thousand per month. On average, the monthly remuneration of the Brazilian was in R$ 29.2 thousand 55.1 Thousand R$ global, considering all nationalities of the 52,715 new immigrants hired by US companies in 2023.
“Numbers like these show why there has been a brain drain from Brazil. They are much higher wages than those in the national market. We have noticed, particularly, a more pronounced exodus of health professionals, such as dentists, doctors, nurses and physiotherapists, engineering, direct, marketing and sales”, points out the CEO of AG Immigration, who has lived in the USA for 14 years.
The full research can be accessed on the AG Immigration website.
