November 17, 2010 The Role of Immigrants in the U.S. Labor
Market: An Update July 23, 2010 People born in other countries
are a growing presence in the U.S. labor force. In 1994, 1 in 10
people in the U.S. labor force was born elsewhere, but in 2009,
1 in 7 was foreign born. About 40 percent of the foreign-born
labor force in 2009 was from Mexico and Central America, and
more than 25 percent was from Asia. This document updates the
Congressional Budget Offices (CBOs) November 2005 paper The Role
of Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market. That earlier report
included data through 2004; this update, the first of several on
various aspects of immigration, incorporates data through 2009.
It focuses on the growing number of foreign-born workers, the
countries from which they have come, their educational
attainment, the types of jobs they hold, and their earnings. In
keeping with CBOs mandate to provide objective, nonpartisan
analysis, this report makes no recommendations. People born in
other countries represent a su