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.