For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, May 22, 2013 USDL-13-0991
Technical information: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
FOREIGN-BORN WORKERS: LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS -- 2012
The unemployment rate for foreign-born persons in the United States was 8.1
percent in 2012, down from 9.1 percent in 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. The jobless rate of native-born persons also fell
to 8.1 percent in 2012, down from 8.9 percent in the prior year.
Data on nativity are collected as part of the Current Population Survey
(CPS), a monthly sample survey of approximately 60,000 households. The
foreign born are persons who reside in the United States but who were born
outside the country or one of its outlying areas to parents who were not
U.S. citizens. The foreign born include legally-admitted immigrants,
refugees, temporary residents such as students and temporary workers, and
undocumented immigrants. The survey data, however, do not separately
identify the numbers of persons in these categories. For further information
about the survey, see the Technical Note.
Highlights from the 2012 data:
--In 2012, there were 25.0 million foreign-born persons in the U.S.
labor force, comprising 16.1 percent of the total. (See table 1.)
--Hispanics accounted for 48.3 percent of the foreign-born labor force
in 2012, and Asians accounted for 23.7 percent. (See table 1.) (Data
in this news release for persons who are white, black, or Asian do
not include those of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Data on persons
of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity are presented separately.)
--Foreign-born workers were more likely than native-born workers to
be employed in service occupations; production, transportation, and
material moving occupations; and natural resources, construction, and
maintenance occupations. (See table 4.)
--The median usual weekly earnings of foreign-born full-time wage
and salary workers were $625 in 2012, compared with $797 for their
native-born counterparts. (See table 5.) (Differences in earnings
reflect a variety of factors, including variations in the
distributions of foreign-born and native-born workers by educational
attainment, occupation, industry, and geographic region.)
Demographic Characteristics
The demographic characteristics of the foreign-born labor force differ
from those of the native-born labor force. In 2012, men accounted for
57.6 percent of the foreign-born labor force, compared with 52.3
percent of the native-born labor force. By age, the proportion of the
foreign-born labor force made up of 25- to 54-year-olds (75.6 percent)
was higher than for the native-born labor force (63.4 percent). Labor
force participation is typically highest among persons in that age
bracket. (See table 1.)
In 2012, nearly half (48.3 percent) of the foreign-born labor force
was Hispanic, and almost one-quarter (23.7 percent) was Asian, compared
with 9.5 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, of the native-born labor force.
About 18.2 percent of the foreign-born labor force was white and 8.7
percent was black, compared with 74.9 percent and 11.6 percent, respectively,
of the native-born labor force.
In terms of educational attainment, 24.6 percent of the foreign-born
labor force 25 years old and over in 2012 had not completed high school,
compared with 5.1 percent of the native-born labor force. The foreign
born were less likely than the native born to have some college or an
associate degree--17.4 percent versus 30.1 percent. Similar proportions of
foreign-born and native-born persons in the labor force had a bachelor's
degree or higher (33.0 percent and 36.7 percent, respectively).
Labor Force
The share of the U.S. civilian labor force that was foreign born was 16.1
percent in 2012; it was 15.9 percent in 2011. (See table 1.)
In 2012, the labor force participation rate of the foreign born was 66.3
percent, compared with 63.2 percent for the native born. The labor force
participation rate was 78.5 percent for foreign-born men and 68.6 percent
for native-born men. Among women, 54.8 percent of the foreign born were
labor force participants, compared with 58.2 percent of the native born.
Among the foreign born, the labor force participation rate for blacks was
70.6 percent in 2012, little different from the participation rate for
Hispanics (69.0 percent). The participation rate for Asians was 64.7
percent, while that for whites was 60.1 percent. Among the native born,
the labor force participation rates for Hispanics and whites were 63.9 percent and
63.7 percent, respectively, higher than the rates for Asians (61.5 percent)
and blacks (60.0 percent). The labor force participation rates for foreign-
born blacks, Asians, and Hispanics were higher than for their native-born
counterparts, while the rate for foreign-born whites was lower than the
rate for native-born whites.
In 2012, foreign-born mothers with children under 18 years old were less
likely to be labor force participants than were native-born mothers--60.3 percent
versus 73.1 percent. Labor force participation differences between foreign-
born and native-born mothers were greater among those with younger children
than among those with older children. The labor force participation rate
of foreign-born mothers with children under age 6 was 52.1 percent in
2012, much lower than that for native-born mothers with children under
age 6 at 68.1 percent. Among women with children under age 3, the participation
rate for the foreign born (47.1 percent) was 17.8 percentage points
below that for native-born mothers (64.9 percent). The labor force
participation rates of foreign- and native-born fathers with children under
age 18 were similar, at 93.8 percent and 92.9 percent, respectively. (See table 2.)
By region, the foreign born made up a larger share of the labor force in
the West (23.9 percent) and in the Northeast (18.9 percent) than for the
nation as a whole (16.1 percent) in 2012. In contrast, the foreign born
made up a smaller share of the labor force than for the nation as a whole
in the South (14.6 percent) and Midwest (8.2 percent). (See table 6.)
Unemployment
From 2011 to 2012, the unemployment rate of foreign-born workers declined
from 9.1 percent to 8.1 percent. The unemployment rate for foreign-born men
fell from 8.8 percent to 7.5 percent, and the rate for foreign-born women was down
from 9.5 percent to 8.9 percent. Among the native born, the unemployment rate
declined from 8.9 percent to 8.1 percent over the year. The rate for men fell from
9.5 percent to 8.4 percent, while the rate for women was down from 8.3 percent to 7.7
percent. (See table 1.)
Among the foreign born, Asians had an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent in
2012, lower than the rates for whites (7.1 percent), blacks (11.1 percent),
and Hispanics (9.1 percent). Among the native born, the jobless rate for
blacks (14.3 percent) was higher than the rates for whites (6.6 percent),
Asians (6.7 percent), and Hispanics (11.5 percent). The unemployment rates
for foreign-born blacks, Asians, and Hispanics were lower than for their
native-born counterparts, while the rates for foreign-born and native-born
whites were little different.
Occupation
In 2012, foreign-born workers were more likely than native-born workers
to be employed in service occupations (25.2 percent versus 16.5 percent). Within
service occupations, two-thirds of the foreign born were employed in food
preparation and serving related occupations and in building and grounds
cleaning and maintenance occupations, whereas one-half of native-born
service workers were employed in those occupations. Foreign-born workers
also were more likely than native-born workers to be employed in production,
transportation, and material moving occupations (15.5 percent versus 11.2 percent)
and in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (12.7 percent
versus 8.3 percent). (See table 4.)
Native-born workers were more likely than foreign-born workers to be
employed in management, professional, and related occupations (39.5 percent
versus 30.0 percent), and in sales and office occupations (24.6 percent versus
16.5 percent).
Employed foreign-born men were more likely than their native-born
counterparts to work in natural resources, construction, and maintenance
occupations, and in service occupations. Compared with native-born women
workers, employed foreign-born women were more likely to be in service
occupations and in production, transportation, and material moving
occupations. The disparity was especially great in service occupations.
Among employed women, 33.2 percent of the foreign born worked in service
occupations in 2012, compared with 19.4 percent of the native born.
Employed native-born women were more likely than employed foreign-born
women to be in sales and office occupations, 32.0 percent versus 22.6 percent.
Earnings
In 2012, the median usual weekly earnings of foreign-born, full-time wage
and salary workers ($625) were 78.4 percent of the earnings of their
native-born counterparts ($797). Among men, median earnings for the foreign
born were $665 per week, while the native born earned $898 per week. The
median usual weekly earnings for foreign-born women were $589, compared
with $710 for native-born women. Differences in earnings reflect a variety
of factors, including variations in the distributions of foreign-born
and native-born workers by educational attainment, occupation, industry,
and geographic region. (See table 5.)
Among the major race and ethnicity groups, Hispanic foreign-born full-time
wage and salary workers earned 78.1 percent as much as their native-born
counterparts in 2012. For white, black, and Asian workers, earnings for
the foreign born and the native born were similar within each group.
The earnings of both foreign-born and native-born workers increase with
education. In 2012, foreign-born workers age 25 and over with less than
a high school education earned $428 per week, while those with a bachelor's
degree and higher earned about 2.7 times as much--$1,164 per week. Among
the native born, those with a bachelor's degree and higher earned about
2.3 times as much as those with less than a high school education--$1,165
versus $510 per week.
Native-born workers earn more than the foreign born at most educational
attainment levels. The gap between the earnings of foreign-born and native-
born workers closes at higher levels of education. For example, among high
school graduates in 2012, full-time workers who were foreign born earned
81.5 percent as much as their native-born counterparts. Among those with
a bachelor's degree and higher, the earnings of foreign-born workers were
essentially the same as the earnings of native-born workers.
