Labor Force Characteristics Of Foreign-Born Workers In 2003.

In 2003, foreign-born workers made up about 14 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force age 16 and over, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. About 21.1 million, or 67.4 percent of the foreign born, were in the labor force, compared with 66.1 percent of the native born.

The unemployment rates for the foreign born and native born in 2003 were 6.6 and 5.9 percent, respectively, both slightly higher than in 2002.

This news release compares the labor force characteristics of the foreign born with those of their nativeborn counterparts. These data on nativity are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of households that is the primary source of information on the nation’s labor force.
The foreign born are persons residing in the United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth. That is, they were born outside the United States or one of its outlying areas, such as Puerto Rico or Guam, to parents neither of whom was a U.S. citizen.

Demographic Characteristics

The demographic characteristics of the foreign-born labor force differ significantly in many respects from those of the native born. For example, men made up a larger proportion of the foreign-born labor force (60 percent) in 2003 than they did of the native-born labor force (52 percent). Also, the proportion of the foreign-born labor force made up of those of prime working age (25- to 54-year olds) is higher than
for their native-born counterparts (76 and 69 percent, respectively).

A much higher proportion of the foreign-born than the native-born labor force resided in the West
region—37 and 20 percent, respectively, in 2003. About 36 percent of the native-born labor force lived in the South and 26 percent resided in the Midwest, compared with 30 and 11 percent, respectively, of the foreign born.

About 48 percent of the foreign-born labor force was Hispanic or Latino, and 22 percent was Asian,
compared with only about 7 and 1 percent, respectively, of the native-born labor force. Just 1 out of 5 of the foreign-born labor force was white, compared with nearly 4 out of 5 of the native-born labor force.

(Data in this release are presented for non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and Asians and for persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.

In terms of educational attainment, nearly 30 percent of the foreign-born labor force 25 years old and over had not completed high school, compared with only about 7 percent of the native-born labor force.

About equal proportions of both the foreign and native born had a college degree (31 and 32 percent, respectively).

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