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Economic News Release
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Labor Force Characteristics of Foreign-born Workers News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, March 19, 2010               USDL-10-0319

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 -- 2009


The share of the U.S. labor force composed of the foreign born was 
little changed in 2009, and their unemployment rate rose from 5.8 
to 9.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
The jobless rate of the native born increased from 5.8 percent in 
2008 to 9.2 percent in 2009.

This news release compares the labor force characteristics of the for-
eign born with those of their native-born counterparts. The data on na-
tivity 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 out-
side 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 separate-
ly identify the numbers of persons in these categories. For further in-
formation about the survey, see the Technical Note.

Some highlights from the 2009 data are:

  -- Both the number of foreign-born labor force participants (23.9
     million) and their share of the U.S. civilian labor force (15.5
     percent) were little changed in 2009 for the second year in a 
     row.

  -- The unemployment rate of the foreign born (9.7 percent) was
     higher than that of the native born (9.2 percent) for the first 
     time since 2003.

  -- In 2009, the median usual weekly earnings of foreign-born full-
     time wage and salary workers were 79.1 percent of those of their
     native-born counterparts.

  -- Hispanics accounted for 50.1 percent of the foreign-born labor
     force, and another 22.3 percent was Asian.

  -- The number of foreign-born white non-Hispanics in the labor force
     declined, while the number of foreign born in the other major 
     race and ethnicity groups showed little change.

Demographic Characteristics

In 2009, men made up a larger proportion of the foreign-born labor force 
(59.3 percent) than they did of the native-born labor force (52.2 per-
cent). The proportion of the foreign-born labor force made up of 25- to 
54-year-olds was higher than for their native-born counterparts (76.7 
and 65.6 percent, respectively); labor force participation is typically 
highest among persons in that age bracket. (See table 1.)

Hispanics comprised 50.1 percent of the foreign-born labor force in
2009, compared with 8.0 percent of the native-born labor force. Asians
made up 22.3 percent of the foreign-born labor force, compared with
1.3 percent of the native-born labor force. (Data in this 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.)

In 2009, 26.7 percent of the foreign-born labor force 25 years old and
over had not completed high school, compared with 5.7 percent of the
native-born labor force. Similar proportions of foreign-born and na-
tive-born persons in the labor force had a bachelor's or higher degree 
(31.8 and 34.9 percent, respectively). Foreign-born workers were less 
likely than native-born workers to have some college or an associate 
degree--17.0 versus 29.8 percent.

Labor Force and Unemployment

In 2009, 67.9 percent of the foreign born were in the labor force, lit-
tle changed from 2008.  Over the year, the labor force participation 
rate of native-born workers fell by 0.7 percentage point to 64.9 per-
cent. In 2009, both the number of foreign-born labor force participants 
(23.9 million) and their share of the U.S. civilian labor force  
(15.5 percent) were little changed for the second year in a row, after 
increasing steadily from 1996 to 2007. (See table 1.)
     
The labor force participation rate of foreign-born men was 80.5 percent 
in 2009, compared with 70.4 percent for native-born men. Among women, 
55.4 percent of foreign-born women were labor force participants, com-
pared with 59.8 percent of native-born women.

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, labor force participation
rates of foreign-born whites (59.8 percent), blacks (72.4 percent),
and Asians (67.7 percent) were down over the year. The rate for for-
eign-born Hispanics (70.8 percent) was little changed in 2009. Among 
the native born, labor force participation rates for all the major 
race and ethnicity groups fell over the year.

In 2009, foreign-born mothers with children under age 18 were less
likely to be labor force participants than native-born mothers--61.2
versus 74.0 percent. Among women with children under age 3, the par-
ticipation rate for the foreign born was 45.8 percent, while that for 
the native born was 64.9 percent. The labor force participation rate 
of both foreign- and native-born fathers with children under age 18 
was about 94 percent. (See table 2.)

The over-the-year increase in the unemployment rate of foreign-born
workers--from 5.8 percent in 2008 to 9.7 percent in 2009--reflected 
increases in the rates for both men and women. The unemployment rate 
for foreign-born men rose from 5.7 to 10.0 percent, and the rate for 
foreign-born women was up from 6.0 to 9.2 percent. Among the native 
born, the unemployment rate increased from 5.8 to 9.2 percent over 
the year. The rate for men rose from 6.2 to 10.3 percent, while the 
rate for women was up from 5.3 to 7.9 percent. (See table 1.)
     
By region, the foreign born made up a larger share of the labor force
in 2009 in the West (23.8 percent) and in the Northeast (17.9 percent)
than for the nation as a whole (15.5 percent). In contrast, the foreign
born made up a smaller share of the labor force than for the nation 
in the South (13.8 percent) and Midwest (7.7 percent). (See table 6.)

Occupation

In 2009, foreign-born workers were more likely than native-born workers 
to be employed in service occupations (24.7 versus 16.3 percent); in 
production, transportation, and material moving occupations (15.8 ver-
sus 10.6 percent); and in natural resources, construction, and mainte-
nance occupations (13.5 versus 8.8 percent). Native-born workers were 
more likely than foreign-born workers to be employed in management, 
professional, and related occupations--38.9 versus 28.9 percent. (See 
table 4.)

Foreign-born men were more likely than native-born men to be employed
in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations; pro-
duction, transportation, material moving occupations; and in service 
occupations. Compared with native-born women, foreign-born women were 
more likely to be employed in service occupations and in production, 
transportation, and material moving occupations.

Earnings

In 2009, the median usual weekly earnings of foreign-born full-time
wage and salary workers were $602, compared with $761 for the native
born. Among men, median earnings for the foreign born were $620 per
week, while the native born earned $864 per week. The median usual
weekly earnings for foreign-born women were $567, compared with $670
for native-born women. (See table 5.)

As with the native born, the earnings of foreign-born workers increased
with education. Foreign-born workers age 25 and over with less than 
a high school education earned $415 per week in 2009, while those with 
bachelor's degrees and higher earned about 2.7 times as much--$1,129 
per week.

The gap between the earnings of foreign-born and native-born workers
narrows with higher levels of education. Among those with less than a
high school diploma in 2009, full-time workers who were foreign born
earned 83.3 percent as much as their native-born counterparts. Among
those with a bachelor's degree and higher, foreign-born workers earned
almost as much (99.2 percent) as native-born workers.




Technical Note


   The estimates in this release are based on annual average data from the
Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS, which is conducted by the U.S.
Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a monthly survey
of about 60,000 households that provides information on the labor force
status, demographics, and other characteristics of the nation's civilian
noninstitutional population age 16 and over. In response to the increased
demand for statistical information about the foreign born, questions on
nativity, citizenship, year of entry into the United States, and the
parental nativity of respondents were added to the CPS beginning in January
1994. Prior to 1994, the primary sources of data on the foreign born were
the decennial census, two CPS supplements (conducted in April 1983 and
November 1989), and, to some extent, information collected by the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly known as the Immigration and
Naturalization Service).

   The foreign- and native-born data for 2009 are not strictly comparable
with data for 2008 and earlier years because of the introduction in January
2009 of revised population controls used in the CPS. The effect of the
revised population controls on the foreign- and native-born estimates is
unknown. However, the effect of the new controls on the monthly CPS
estimates was to decrease the December 2008 employment level by 407,000 and
the unemployment level by 42,000. The new population controls had a
negligible impact on unemployment rates and other percentage estimates.
More detailed information on the population adjustments and their effect on
national labor force estimates are available at www.bls.gov/cps/cps09adj.pdf.

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200, Federal Relay
Service: (800) 877-8339.

Reliability of the estimates

   Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling
error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed,
there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true"
population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error,
varies depending upon the particular sample selected, and this variability
is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-
percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample
will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population
value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at
the 90-percent level of confidence.

   The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error
can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of
the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the
sample, in ability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct
information and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and
information on estimating standard errors, see the Household Data section
of the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" from Employment and
Earnings Online at www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf.

Concepts and definitions

   Foreign born. 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. The foreign-born
population includes legally-admitted immigrants, refugees, temporary
residents such as students and temporary workers, and undocumented
immigrants. The survey data, however, do not separately identify the
number of persons in these categories.

   Native born. The native born are persons born in the United States or
one of its outlying areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam or who were born
abroad of at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen.

   Race and ethnicity groups. In this release, the data are presented for
non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and Asians and for persons of Hispanic or
Latino ethnicity. These four groups are mutually exclusive but not
exhaustive. Other race groups (including persons who selected more than
one race category) are included in the overall totals but are not shown
separately because the number of survey respondents is too small to develop
statistically reliable estimates. The presentation of the data on race and
ethnicity in this release differs from that which appears in most analyses
of CPS labor force data because persons of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity are
separated from the race groups. Because persons of Hispanic or Latino
ethnicity can be of any race, they are usually included in the race groups
as well as shown separately in the Hispanic or Latino ethnicity group. The
reason for the difference in the data presentation in this release is
because about half of the foreign born are of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
and they have somewhat different labor force characteristics than the non-
Hispanic foreign born.

   Employed. Employed persons are (a) all those who, during the survey
reference week, did any work at all as paid employees, worked in their own
business, profession, or on their own farm, or who worked 15 hours or more
as unpaid workers in a family-operated enterprise; and (b) all those who
did not work but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily
absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, childcare problems, labor
disputes, or personal reasons, whether or not they were paid for the time
off and whether or not they were seeking other jobs.

   Unemployed. The unemployed are persons who had no employment during the
reference week, were available for work at that time, except for temporary
illness, and had made specific efforts to find employment sometime during
the 4-week period ending with the reference week. Persons who were waiting
to be recalled to a job from which they had been laid off need not be
looking for work to be classified as unemployed.

   Civilian labor force. The civilian labor force comprises all persons
classified as employed or unemployed.

   Unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is the number unemployed as a
percent of the civilian labor force.

   Labor force participation rate. The labor force participation rate is
the labor force as a percent of the population.

   Usual weekly earnings. Data represent earnings before taxes and other
deductions and include any overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually
received (at the main job in the case of multiple jobholders). Earnings
reported on a basis other than weekly are converted to a weekly equivalent.

   Median earnings. The median is the amount which divides a given
earnings distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings above the
median and the other having earnings below the median.




  Table 1.  Employment status of the foreign-born and native-born populations by selected characteristics, 2008-09 annual averages

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                                                            2008                                                 2009                        
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                                                         Civilian labor force                                 Civilian labor force           
                                    Civilian                                              Civilian                                            
           Characteristic           noninsti-                                             noninsti-                                            
                                    tutional                               Unemployed     tutional                               Unemployed   
                                     popula-         Partici-                              popula-        Partici-                           
                                      tion    Total   pation   Employed                     tion    Total  pation   Employed                  
                                                       rate                      Unem-                      rate                      Unem- 
                                                                        Number  ployment                                     Number  ployment
                                                                                  rate                                                 rate  
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                TOTAL                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                             
      Total, 16 years and over.....  233,788 154,287    66.0   145,362    8,924     5.8   235,801 154,142    65.4   139,877   14,265     9.3 
    Men............................  113,113  82,520    73.0    77,486    5,033     6.1   114,136  82,123    72.0    73,670    8,453    10.3 
    Women..........................  120,675  71,767    59.5    67,876    3,891     5.4   121,665  72,019    59.2    66,208    5,811     8.1 
                                                                                                                                             
            FOREIGN BORN                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                             
      Total, 16 years and over.....   35,317  24,063    68.1    22,660    1,403     5.8    35,216  23,926    67.9    21,608    2,317     9.7 
    Men............................   17,688  14,400    81.4    13,578      822     5.7    17,628  14,190    80.5    12,765    1,426    10.0 
    Women..........................   17,629   9,663    54.8     9,082      581     6.0    17,588   9,735    55.4     8,844      891     9.2 
                                                                                                                                             
                 Age                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                             
    16 to 24 years.................    3,845   2,211    57.5     1,979      232    10.5     3,542   1,986    56.1     1,681      304    15.3 
    25 to 34 years.................    7,992   6,236    78.0     5,866      371     5.9     7,637   5,907    77.3     5,330      577     9.8 
    35 to 44 years.................    8,327   6,814    81.8     6,473      341     5.0     8,379   6,847    81.7     6,210      637     9.3 
    45 to 54 years.................    6,602   5,380    81.5     5,083      297     5.5     6,819   5,588    81.9     5,096      491     8.8 
    55 to 64 years.................    4,126   2,700    65.4     2,580      120     4.5     4,321   2,838    65.7     2,590      249     8.8 
    65 years and over..............    4,424     721    16.3       679       42     5.9     4,517     760    16.8       701       59     7.8 
                                                                                                                                             
          Race and Hispanic                                                                                                                  
       or Latino ethnicity (1)                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                             
    White non-Hispanic or Latino ..    7,517   4,531    60.3     4,305      226     5.0     7,249   4,334    59.8     4,002      332     7.7 
    Black non-Hispanic or Latino ..    2,743   2,007    73.2     1,863      144     7.2     2,812   2,037    72.4     1,807      231    11.3 
    Asian non-Hispanic or Latino ..    7,894   5,382    68.2     5,185      197     3.7     7,876   5,332    67.7     4,967      365     6.8 
    Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...   16,816  11,889    70.7    11,067      822     6.9    16,933  11,982    70.8    10,612    1,370    11.4 
                                                                                                                                             
       Educational attainment                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                             
      Total, 25 years and over.....   31,472  21,852    69.4    20,681    1,171     5.4    31,674  21,940    69.3    19,927    2,013     9.2 
    Less than a high school diploma    9,420   5,759    61.1     5,316      443     7.7     9,542   5,862    61.4     5,122      740    12.6 
    High school graduates, no                                                                                                                
       college (2).................    8,098   5,514    68.1     5,201      312     5.7     7,992   5,371    67.2     4,875      496     9.2 
    Some college or associate                                                                                                                
       degree......................    4,951   3,648    73.7     3,457      190     5.2     5,070   3,735    73.7     3,406      328     8.8 
    Bachelor's degree and higher                                                                                                             
       (3).........................    9,003   6,931    77.0     6,705      226     3.3     9,070   6,972    76.9     6,524      448     6.4 
                                                                                                                                             
             NATIVE BORN                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                             
      Total, 16 years and over.....  198,471 130,224    65.6   122,703    7,521     5.8   200,585 130,216    64.9   118,269   11,947     9.2 
    Men............................   95,424  68,119    71.4    63,908    4,211     6.2    96,508  67,933    70.4    60,905    7,028    10.3 
    Women..........................  103,047  62,104    60.3    58,795    3,310     5.3   104,077  62,284    59.8    57,364    4,920     7.9 
                                                                                                                                             
                 Age                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                             
    16 to 24 years.................   33,639  19,821    58.9    17,223    2,599    13.1    34,025  19,375    56.9    15,920    3,455    17.8 
    25 to 34 years.................   32,001  27,096    84.7    25,517    1,579     5.8    32,643  27,392    83.9    24,684    2,707     9.9 
    35 to 44 years.................   33,372  28,247    84.6    26,984    1,264     4.5    32,540  27,391    84.2    25,307    2,085     7.6 
    45 to 54 years.................   37,357  30,623    82.0    29,446    1,177     3.8    37,546  30,617    81.5    28,517    2,101     6.9 
    55 to 64 years.................   29,364  18,915    64.4    18,232      682     3.6    30,349  19,667    64.8    18,429    1,238     6.3 
    65 years and over..............   32,737   5,522    16.9     5,300      222     4.0    33,481   5,774    17.2     5,413      362     6.3 
                                                                                                                                             
          Race and Hispanic                                                                                                                  
       or Latino ethnicity (1)                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                             
    White non-Hispanic or Latino ..  152,157 100,679    66.2    95,909    4,770     4.7   153,104 100,525    65.7    92,681    7,844     7.8 
    Black non-Hispanic or Latino ..   24,157  15,101    62.5    13,524    1,577    10.4    24,466  14,971    61.2    12,700    2,271    15.2 
    Asian non-Hispanic or Latino ..    2,669   1,674    62.7     1,600       74     4.4     2,756   1,681    61.0     1,542      138     8.2 
    Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...   15,325  10,135    66.1     9,279      856     8.4    15,958  10,370    65.0     9,034    1,336    12.9 
                                                                                                                                             
       Educational attainment                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                             
      Total, 25 years and over.....  164,832 110,403    67.0   105,480    4,923     4.5   166,560 110,842    66.5   102,349    8,492     7.7 
    Less than a high school diploma   16,702   6,406    38.4     5,757      649    10.1    16,587   6,284    37.9     5,249    1,035    16.5 
    High school graduates, no                                                                                                                
       college (2).................   53,017  32,749    61.8    30,896    1,854     5.7    53,477  32,815    61.4    29,612    3,203     9.8 
    Some college or associate                                                                                                                
       degree......................   46,153  33,070    71.7    31,582    1,488     4.5    46,657  33,080    70.9    30,482    2,599     7.9 
    Bachelor's degree and higher                                                                                                             
       (3).........................   48,959  38,177    78.0    37,245      932     2.4    49,839  38,662    77.6    37,007    1,655     4.3 

    1 Data for race/ethnicity groups do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.
    2 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
    3 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
    NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. See the Technical Note for further
  information. 




  Table 2.  Employment status of the foreign-born and native-born populations 16 years and over by presence and age of
  youngest child and sex, 2008-09 annual averages

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
                                                                2008                                2009               
                 Characteristic                                                                                        
                                                                                                                       
                                                   Total        Men        Women       Total        Men        Women   
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
                  FOREIGN BORN                                                                                         
                                                                                                                       
           With own children under 18                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    13,864       6,618       7,245      13,723       6,585       7,138  
   Civilian labor force........................    10,626       6,228       4,399      10,577       6,209       4,368  
     Participation rate........................      76.6        94.1        60.7        77.1        94.3        61.2  
    Employed...................................    10,047       5,929       4,118       9,573       5,645       3,928  
     Employment-population ratio...............      72.5        89.6        56.8        69.8        85.7        55.0  
    Unemployed.................................       580         299         281       1,003         563         440  
     Unemployment rate.........................       5.5         4.8         6.4         9.5         9.1        10.1  
                                                                                                                       
     With own children 6 to 17, none younger                                                                           
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........     7,173       3,359       3,814       7,180       3,395       3,785  
   Civilian labor force........................     5,791       3,123       2,668       5,834       3,176       2,658  
     Participation rate........................      80.7        93.0        69.9        81.2        93.5        70.2  
    Employed...................................     5,505       2,985       2,520       5,292       2,876       2,416  
     Employment-population ratio...............      76.7        88.9        66.1        73.7        84.7        63.8  
    Unemployed.................................       286         138         148         542         299         242  
     Unemployment rate.........................       4.9         4.4         5.5         9.3         9.4         9.1  
                                                                                                                       
            With own children under 6                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........     6,691       3,259       3,431       6,543       3,190       3,353  
   Civilian labor force........................     4,835       3,104       1,731       4,743       3,033       1,710  
     Participation rate........................      72.3        95.2        50.4        72.5        95.1        51.0  
    Employed...................................     4,542       2,944       1,598       4,281       2,769       1,512  
     Employment-population ratio...............      67.9        90.3        46.6        65.4        86.8        45.1  
    Unemployed.................................       294         161         133         461         264         198  
     Unemployment rate.........................       6.1         5.2         7.7         9.7         8.7        11.6  
                                                                                                                       
            With own children under 3                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........     3,923       1,927       1,996       3,758       1,852       1,907  
   Civilian labor force........................     2,727       1,837         890       2,632       1,758         874  
     Participation rate........................      69.5        95.3        44.6        70.0        95.0        45.8  
    Employed...................................     2,558       1,745         813       2,379       1,612         767  
     Employment-population ratio...............      65.2        90.6        40.7        63.3        87.0        40.2  
    Unemployed.................................       169          92          78         253         146         107  
     Unemployment rate.........................       6.2         5.0         8.7         9.6         8.3        12.2  
                                                                                                                       
          With no own children under 18                                                                                
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    21,453      11,070      10,383      21,493      11,043      10,450  
   Civilian labor force........................    13,436       8,173       5,264      13,349       7,982       5,367  
     Participation rate........................      62.6        73.8        50.7        62.1        72.3        51.4  
    Employed...................................    12,613       7,650       4,964      12,035       7,119       4,916  
     Employment-population ratio...............      58.8        69.1        47.8        56.0        64.5        47.0  
    Unemployed.................................       823         523         300       1,314         862         452  
     Unemployment rate.........................       6.1         6.4         5.7         9.8        10.8         8.4  

                     NATIVE BORN                                                                                         
                                                                                                                       
           With own children under 18                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    51,642      22,467      29,175      50,974      22,132      28,841  
   Civilian labor force........................    42,762      21,144      21,617      42,050      20,720      21,330  
     Participation rate........................      82.8        94.1        74.1        82.5        93.6        74.0  
    Employed...................................    40,859      20,403      20,455      38,934      19,291      19,642  
     Employment-population ratio...............      79.1        90.8        70.1        76.4        87.2        68.1  
    Unemployed.................................     1,903         741       1,162       3,116       1,429       1,687  
     Unemployment rate.........................       4.5         3.5         5.4         7.4         6.9         7.9  
                                                                                                                       
     With own children 6 to 17, none younger                                                                           
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    29,259      12,841      16,418      28,548      12,527      16,021  
   Civilian labor force........................    24,936      11,955      12,981      24,244      11,589      12,655  
     Participation rate........................      85.2        93.1        79.1        84.9        92.5        79.0  
    Employed...................................    23,974      11,555      12,419      22,653      10,847      11,806  
     Employment-population ratio...............      81.9        90.0        75.6        79.4        86.6        73.7  
    Unemployed.................................       963         400         562       1,591         743         848  
     Unemployment rate.........................       3.9         3.3         4.3         6.6         6.4         6.7  
                                                                                                                       
            With own children under 6                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    22,384       9,627      12,757      22,426       9,606      12,820  
   Civilian labor force........................    17,825       9,189       8,636      17,806       9,131       8,675  
     Participation rate........................      79.6        95.5        67.7        79.4        95.1        67.7  
    Employed...................................    16,885       8,849       8,036      16,281       8,445       7,836  
     Employment-population ratio...............      75.4        91.9        63.0        72.6        87.9        61.1  
    Unemployed.................................       940         340         600       1,525         686         839  
     Unemployment rate.........................       5.3         3.7         6.9         8.6         7.5         9.7  
                                                                                                                       
            With own children under 3                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    13,358       5,758       7,600      13,293       5,723       7,570  
   Civilian labor force........................    10,419       5,517       4,902      10,350       5,438       4,913  
     Participation rate........................      78.0        95.8        64.5        77.9        95.0        64.9  
    Employed...................................     9,841       5,299       4,542       9,442       5,018       4,424  
     Employment-population ratio...............      73.7        92.0        59.8        71.0        87.7        58.4  
    Unemployed.................................       578         218         360         908         420         488  
     Unemployment rate.........................       5.5         3.9         7.4         8.8         7.7         9.9  
                                                                                                                       
          With no own children under 18                                                                                
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........   146,829      72,957      73,872     149,611      74,375      75,236  
   Civilian labor force........................    87,462      46,975      40,487      88,167      47,213      40,954  
     Participation rate........................      59.6        64.4        54.8        58.9        63.5        54.4  
    Employed...................................    81,844      43,505      38,339      79,335      41,614      37,722  
     Employment-population ratio...............      55.7        59.6        51.9        53.0        56.0        50.1  
    Unemployed.................................     5,618       3,470       2,148       8,831       5,599       3,232  
     Unemployment rate.........................       6.4         7.4         5.3        10.0        11.9         7.9  

      NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. See the Technical
  Note for further information. 




  Table 3.  Employment status of the foreign-born and native-born populations 25 years and over by educational attainment,
  race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2008-09 annual averages

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                              2008                                      2009                  
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
               Characteristic              Less than    High       Some              Less than    High       Some             
                                             a high    school    college  Bachelor's   a high    school    college  Bachelor's
                                             school  graduates,     or    degree and   school  graduates,     or    degree and
                                            diploma  no college associate higher (2)  diploma  no college associate higher (2)
                                                         (1)      degree                           (1)      degree            
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                FOREIGN BORN                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                              
        White non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....      891     1,884      1,360     2,744        832     1,729      1,370     2,763  
   Civilian labor force...................      276       990        885     2,024        266       899        865     2,004  
     Participation rate...................     30.9      52.5       65.1      73.7       32.0      52.0       63.1      72.5  
    Employed..............................      253       939        838     1,952        238       823        804     1,877  
     Employment-population ratio..........     28.4      49.9       61.6      71.2       28.6      47.6       58.6      67.9  
    Unemployed............................       22        50         48        71         28        77         61       127  
     Unemployment rate....................      8.1       5.1        5.4       3.5       10.7       8.5        7.1       6.4  
                                                                                                                              
        Black non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....      334       758        629       677        347       748        661       719  
   Civilian labor force...................      192       561        501       582        194       544        525       615  
     Participation rate...................     57.4      74.0       79.7      86.0       56.0      72.7       79.5      85.5  
    Employed..............................      176       516        466       559        164       482        474       563  
     Employment-population ratio..........     52.9      68.1       74.0      82.5       47.2      64.4       71.7      78.3  
    Unemployed............................       15        45         36        24         30        62         52        52  
     Unemployment rate....................      7.9       8.0        7.1       4.1       15.7      11.4        9.8       8.5  
                                                                                                                              
        Asian non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....      864     1,453      1,033     3,880        936     1,425      1,032     3,881  
   Civilian labor force...................      402       951        758     2,979        419       878        759     3,016  
     Participation rate...................     46.6      65.5       73.4      76.8       44.8      61.6       73.6      77.7  
    Employed..............................      375       913        725     2,898        386       814        696     2,841  
     Employment-population ratio..........     43.4      62.8       70.2      74.7       41.3      57.2       67.5      73.2  
    Unemployed............................       27        39         33        81         33        64         64       175  
     Unemployment rate....................      6.8       4.1        4.4       2.7        7.9       7.3        8.4       5.8  
                                                                                                                              
        Hispanic or Latino ethnicity                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....    7,292     3,940      1,852     1,579      7,376     4,020      1,929     1,596  
   Civilian labor force...................    4,871     2,967      1,439     1,245      4,959     3,002      1,526     1,247  
     Participation rate...................     66.8      75.3       77.7      78.9       67.2      74.7       79.1      78.1  
    Employed..............................    4,495     2,790      1,368     1,198      4,314     2,712      1,378     1,158  
     Employment-population ratio..........     61.6      70.8       73.9      75.9       58.5      67.5       71.5      72.5  
    Unemployed............................      376       177         71        47        644       289        147        89  
     Unemployment rate....................      7.7       6.0        5.0       3.7       13.0       9.6        9.7       7.1  
                                                                                                                              
                NATIVE BORN                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                              
        White non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....   10,723    41,180     35,972    41,982     10,507    41,552     36,165    42,586  
   Civilian labor force...................    3,975    24,863     25,386    32,458      3,860    24,975     25,328    32,751  
     Participation rate...................     37.1      60.4       70.6      77.3       36.7      60.1       70.0      76.9  
    Employed..............................    3,644    23,659     24,397    31,727      3,295    22,797     23,543    31,445  
     Employment-population ratio..........     34.0      57.5       67.8      75.6       31.4      54.9       65.1      73.8  
    Unemployed............................      331     1,204        990       731        565     2,178      1,785     1,306  
     Unemployment rate....................      8.3       4.8        3.9       2.3       14.6       8.7        7.0       4.0  
                                                                                                                              
        Black non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....    3,128     6,923      5,533     3,582      3,112     6,897      5,738     3,659  
   Civilian labor force...................    1,167     4,467      4,125     2,881      1,099     4,392      4,158     2,923  
     Participation rate...................     37.3      64.5       74.6      80.4       35.3      63.7       72.5      79.9  
    Employed..............................      979     4,046      3,815     2,769        851     3,760      3,673     2,717  
     Employment-population ratio..........     31.3      58.4       69.0      77.3       27.4      54.5       64.0      74.3  
    Unemployed............................      187       420        310       113        248       631        486       206  
     Unemployment rate....................     16.0       9.4        7.5       3.9       22.6      14.4       11.7       7.0  
                                                                                                                              
        Asian non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....      147       360        442       929        126       360        465       962  
   Civilian labor force...................       57       210        308       737         51       201        315       779  
     Participation rate...................     38.9      58.2       69.6      79.3       40.2      55.7       67.8      81.0  
    Employed..............................       55       200        301       715         47       186        291       743  
     Employment-population ratio..........     37.7      55.4       68.2      76.9       37.3      51.5       62.5      77.2  
    Unemployed............................        2        10          6        23          4        15         25        36  
     Unemployment rate....................      2.9       4.9        2.1       3.1        7.4       7.6        7.8       4.7  
                                                                                                                              
        Hispanic or Latino ethnicity                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....    2,264     3,587      3,131     1,835      2,388     3,716      3,174     1,947  
   Civilian labor force...................    1,040     2,609      2,476     1,588      1,105     2,656      2,501     1,648  
     Participation rate...................     45.9      72.8       79.1      86.5       46.3      71.5       78.8      84.7  
    Employed..............................      931     2,442      2,353     1,537        918     2,357      2,278     1,571  
     Employment-population ratio..........     41.1      68.1       75.2      83.8       38.5      63.4       71.8      80.7  
    Unemployed............................      109       167        123        50        186       299        223        77  
     Unemployment rate....................     10.4       6.4        5.0       3.2       16.9      11.3        8.9       4.7  

    1 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
    2 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
    NOTE:  Data for race/ethnicity groups do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Updated
  population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. See the Technical Note for further
  information. 




  Table 4.  Employed foreign-born and native-born persons 16 years and over by occupation and sex,
  2009 annual averages

  (Percent distribution)
                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                     
                                                                   Foreign Born                  Native Born         
                        Occupation                                                                                   
                                                                                                                     
                                                            Total      Men      Women     Total      Men      Women  
                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                     
    Total................................................   21,608    12,765     8,844   118,269    60,905    57,364 
    Percent..............................................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0
                                                                                                                     
  Management, professional, and related occupations......     28.9      26.5      32.5      38.9      36.1      41.8 
   Management, business, and financial operations                                                                    
      occupations........................................     10.7      10.7      10.7      16.3      18.0      14.4 
    Management occupations...............................      7.6       8.6       6.3      11.7      14.1       9.1 
    Business and financial operations occupations........      3.0       2.1       4.3       4.6       3.9       5.3 
   Professional and related occupations..................     18.2      15.8      21.8      22.6      18.1      27.4 
    Computer and mathematical occupations................      3.3       4.2       2.1       2.3       3.4       1.2 
    Architecture and engineering occupations.............      2.1       3.1        .7       1.9       3.2        .5 
    Life, physical, and social science occupations.......      1.2       1.2       1.3        .9        .9        .9 
    Community and social services occupations............      1.0        .7       1.4       1.8       1.3       2.4 
    Legal occupations....................................       .5        .4        .6       1.4       1.3       1.4 
    Education, training, and library occupations.........      3.5       2.1       5.5       6.7       3.2      10.3 
    Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media                                                                   
       occupations.......................................      1.3       1.3       1.5       2.1       2.1       2.0 
    Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations....      5.3       2.8       8.7       5.6       2.6       8.7 
                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations....................................     24.7      19.0      32.8      16.3      13.3      19.5 
    Healthcare support occupations.......................      2.6        .6       5.6       2.3        .4       4.3 
    Protective service occupations.......................      1.0       1.3        .6       2.5       3.8       1.1 
    Food preparation and serving related occupations.....      8.0       8.0       8.0       5.1       3.9       6.3 
    Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance                                                                    
       occupations.......................................      8.5       7.4      10.2       3.0       3.7       2.2 
    Personal care and service occupations................      4.5       1.7       8.5       3.4       1.5       5.6 
                                                                                                                     
  Sales and office occupations...........................     17.0      12.8      23.1      25.5      17.8      33.5 
    Sales and related occupations........................      8.9       8.1      10.0      11.6      11.2      12.0 
    Office and administrative support occupations........      8.2       4.7      13.1      13.9       6.6      21.6 
                                                                                                                     
  Natural resources, construction, and maintenance                                                                   
     occupations.........................................     13.5      21.9       1.4       8.8      16.3        .8 
    Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations...........      1.6       2.2        .8        .5        .7        .2 
    Construction and extraction occupations..............      8.8      14.8        .3       4.7       8.8        .3 
    Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations....      3.0       4.9        .3       3.6       6.8        .3 
                                                                                                                     
  Production, transportation, and material moving                                                                    
     occupations.........................................     15.8      19.8      10.1      10.6      16.4       4.4 
    Production occupations...............................      8.5       9.2       7.5       4.9       7.1       2.6 
    Transportation and material moving occupations.......      7.4      10.6       2.7       5.7       9.3       1.8 

      NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. See the Technical
  Note for further information. 




 Table 5.  Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers for the foreign born and native born by selected
 characteristics, 2008-09 annual averages

 (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                         2008                                         2009                    
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                        Foreign Born      Native Born    Earnings    Foreign Born      Native Born    Earnings
                                                                            of                                           of   
           Characteristic                                                 foreign                                      foreign
                                                                         born as                                      born as 
                                               Median            Median   percent           Median            Median   percent
                                      Number   weekly   Number   weekly     of     Number   weekly   Number   weekly     of   
                                              earnings          earnings  native           earnings          earnings  native 
                                                                         born (1)                                     born (1)
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
   Total, 16 years and over.........   17,328     $595   89,320     $744    79.9    15,965     $602   83,855     $761    79.1 
 Men................................   10,848      613   48,591      842    72.9     9,867      620   45,241      864    71.7 
 Women..............................    6,480      557   40,729      651    85.5     6,099      567   38,614      670    84.6 
                                                                                                                              
                 AGE                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
   16 to 24 years...................    1,337      402    9,284      451    89.1     1,085      400    7,873      452    88.5 
   25 to 34 years...................    4,786      572   20,857      689    83.0     4,185      555   19,675      704    78.8 
   35 to 44 years...................    5,118      635   21,290      842    75.4     4,709      647   19,659      856    75.5 
   45 to 54 years...................    3,846      663   22,794      848    78.2     3,718      679   21,605      866    78.4 
   55 to 64 years...................    1,849      661   12,914      849    77.9     1,886      672   12,842      865    77.7 
   65 years and over................      392      568    2,181      659    86.2       383      574    2,201      703    81.6 
                                                                                                                              
        RACE AND HISPANIC OR                                                                                                  
        LATINO ETHNICITY (2)                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                              
   White non-Hispanic or Latino ....    2,984      846   68,334      788   107.3     2,693      863   64,497      808   106.7 
   Black non-Hispanic or Latino ....    1,472      601   10,905      588   102.2     1,397      613    9,956      601   102.1 
   Asian non-Hispanic or Latino ....    3,988      864    1,184      865    99.8     3,726      877    1,101      908    96.6 
   Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.....    8,686      483    7,122      621    77.8     7,964      479    6,660      632    75.8 
                                                                                                                              
       EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                              
     Total, 25 years and over.......   15,992      614   80,036      788    78.0    14,881      621   75,982      805    77.1 
   Less than a high school diploma..    4,213      417    3,908      493    84.6     3,817      415    3,472      498    83.3 
   High school graduates, no college                                                                                          
      (3)...........................    3,920      523   23,472      633    82.7     3,611      530   21,766      644    82.3 
   Some college or associate degree     2,582      651   23,944      729    89.3     2,460      641   22,657      733    87.4 
   Bachelor's degree and higher (4)     5,277    1,092   28,713    1,119    97.6     4,993    1,129   28,088    1,138    99.2 

   1 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded
 medians displayed in this table.
   2 Data for race/ethnicity groups do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.
   3 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
   4 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
   NOTE:  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. See the Technical Note for
 further information.




  Table 6.  Employment status of the foreign-born and native-born populations 16 years and over by census regions and divisions,
  2008-09 annual averages

  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                
                                                     2008                                                        2009                           
                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                
                                                  Civilian labor force                                        Civilian labor force              
    Census regions and    Civilian                                                    Civilian                                                  
        divisions        noninsti-                                                   noninsti-                                                  
                          tutional                                    Unemployed      tutional                                    Unemployed    
                         population          Partici-                                population          Partici-                              
                                     Total    pation     Employed                                 Total   pation     Employed                    
                                               rate                Number  Unemploy-                       rate                Number  Unemploy-
                                                                           ment rate                                                   ment rate
                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                
       FOREIGN BORN                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                
    Northeast...........    7,652     5,044     65.9      4,793       251      5.0      7,688     5,079     66.1      4,652       427      8.4  
      New England.......    1,491     1,023     68.6        963        60      5.8      1,421       974     68.5        888        85      8.8  
      Middle Atlantic...    6,162     4,021     65.3      3,830       192      4.8      6,266     4,106     65.5      3,764       342      8.3  
                                                                                                                                                
    South...............   10,912     7,610     69.7      7,198       412      5.4     10,934     7,593     69.4      6,914       679      8.9  
      South Atlantic....    6,474     4,577     70.7      4,301       276      6.0      6,361     4,432     69.7      3,996       436      9.8  
      East South Central      583       434     74.5        413        21      4.9        604       444     73.5        395        49     10.9  
      West South Central    3,855     2,599     67.4      2,484       115      4.4      3,969     2,717     68.5      2,523       194      7.2  
                                                                                                                                                
    Midwest.............    3,931     2,708     68.9      2,547       161      5.9      3,923     2,689     68.6      2,422       268     10.0  
      East North Central    3,015     2,047     67.9      1,927       120      5.9      2,995     2,016     67.3      1,805       211     10.5  
      West North Central      916       661     72.2        620        41      6.2        928       674     72.6        617        57      8.5  
                                                                                                                                                
    West................   12,822     8,701     67.9      8,122       579      6.7     12,671     8,563     67.6      7,620       943     11.0  
      Mountain..........    2,195     1,529     69.6      1,445        83      5.5      2,154     1,463     67.9      1,320       143      9.8  
      Pacific...........   10,627     7,172     67.5      6,677       495      6.9     10,518     7,101     67.5      6,301       800     11.3  
                                                                                                                                                
       NATIVE BORN                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                
    Northeast...........   35,527    23,186     65.3     21,903     1,283      5.5     35,785    23,268     65.0     21,336     1,932      8.3  
      New England.......    9,839     6,659     67.7      6,299       360      5.4      9,965     6,720     67.4      6,172       547      8.1  
      Middle Atlantic...   25,688    16,527     64.3     15,604       923      5.6     25,820    16,548     64.1     15,163     1,385      8.4  
                                                                                                                                                
    South...............   74,203    47,437     63.9     44,826     2,611      5.5     75,111    47,388     63.1     43,142     4,246      9.0  
      South Atlantic....   38,649    24,989     64.7     23,584     1,406      5.6     39,142    24,880     63.6     22,555     2,324      9.3  
      East South Central   13,316     8,134     61.1      7,619       515      6.3     13,416     8,064     60.1      7,211       852     10.6  
      West South Central   22,238    14,314     64.4     13,624       691      4.8     22,553    14,445     64.0     13,375     1,069      7.4  
                                                                                                                                                
    Midwest.............   47,526    32,231     67.8     30,279     1,953      6.1     47,717    32,077     67.2     29,026     3,050      9.5  
      East North Central   32,903    21,939     66.7     20,483     1,456      6.6     33,020    21,746     65.9     19,449     2,297     10.6  
      West North Central   14,623    10,293     70.4      9,796       497      4.8     14,696    10,330     70.3      9,578       753      7.3  
                                                                                                                                                
    West................   41,215    27,369     66.4     25,694     1,675      6.1     41,972    27,484     65.5     24,765     2,719      9.9  
      Mountain..........   14,227     9,635     67.7      9,148       487      5.1     14,523     9,674     66.6      8,851       823      8.5  
      Pacific...........   26,988    17,734     65.7     16,546     1,188      6.7     27,449    17,810     64.9     15,914     1,896     10.6  

      NOTE:  The states (plus the District of Columbia) that comprise the census divisions are: New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
  New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont); Middle Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania); South Atlantic (Delaware, District of
  Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia); East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky,
  Mississippi, and Tennessee); West South Central Division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas); East North Central (Illinois, Indiana,
  Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin); West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota); Mountain
  (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming); Pacific (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington).
  Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. See the Technical Note for further information.




Last Modified Date: March 19, 2010