Immigration and the U.S. Labor Force
Two New Studies Examine Economics of Immigration

WASHINGTON (August 17, 2009) – The two reports released today by the Center for Immigration Studies provide detailed information on the U.S. labor force. The first, entitled “Jobs Americans Don’t Do?,” provides a detailed look at the concentration of immigrants across the 465 occupations that comprise the U.S.-labor market. The second report, entitled “Worse Than It Seems,” examines the broader measure of unemployment, referred to by the government as U-6, which includes the unemployed and people who would like to work but have not looked for a job recently, as well as those working part-time who want full-time work.

Among the findings:

• Of the 465 civilian occupations, only four are majority immigrant. These four occupations account for less than one percent of the total U.S. workforce. Moreover, even in these four occupations, native-born Americans comprise 47% of workers.
• Many jobs often thought to be overwhelmingly immigrant are in fact majority native-born:
  • Maids and housekeepers: 55 percent native-born.
  • Taxi drivers and chauffeurs: 58 percent native-born.
  • Butchers and meat processors: 63 percent native-born.
  • Grounds maintenance workers: 65 percent native-born.
  • Construction laborers: 65 percent native-born.
  • Porters, bellhops and concierges: 71 percent native-born.
  • Janitors: 75 percent native-born.
• Immigrants tend to be concentrated in occupations that are primarily, but not exclusively, lower wage jobs that require relatively little formal education.
• In June 2009, the official unemployment rate for native-born Americans was 9.7 percent, but the broader U-6 measure was 16.3 percent. The U-6 measure includes people who would like to work but have not looked for a job recently, as well as those working part-time involuntarily.
• There are 12.7 million unemployed native-born Americans, but using the U-6 measure the number is 21.7 million.
• The unemployment rate for native-born Americans with less than a high school education is 20.8 percent. Their U-6 measure is 33.2 percent.
• The unemployment rate for young native-born Americans (18-29) who have only a high school education is 18.5 percent. Their U-6 measure is 30.3 percent.
• The unemployment rate for native-born blacks with less than a high school education is 27.5 percent. Their U-6 measure is 42 percent.
• The unemployment rate for young, native-born blacks (18-29) with only a high school education is 25.8 percent. Their U-6 measure is 37.4 percent.
• The unemployment rate for native-born Hispanics with less than a high school education is 22.6 percent. Their U-6 measure is 36.5 percent.

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  The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institutewhich examines the impact of immigration on the United States.