James Myall, an analyst with the nonprofit Maine Center for Economic Policy, said immigrants tend to make up a larger percentage of the workforce in traditionally lower-wage industries, agriculture included.
In Maine, there has been great demand for workers, and pay in other sectors like retail and hospitality has outpaced inflation, Myall said.
“I think that means for some of these low-wage industries, like agriculture, they have a harder time hiring local folks, partly because people have more options for work,” Myall said.