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

Technical information:         (202) 691-6378      USDL 08-0409
                      http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                                   For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact:                 (202) 691-5902      Wednesday, March 26, 2008

             FOREIGN-BORN WORKERS:  LABOR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS IN 2007

   Foreign-born workers' share of the U.S. labor force continued to grow, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  In
2007, 24.0 million persons, or 15.7 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force
age 16 and over, were foreign born.  Their share of the labor force was up from
15.3 percent in 2006.  The unemployment rate for the foreign born increased by
0.3 percentage point over the year to 4.3 percent in 2007.  From 2003 to 2006,
it had declined by 2.6 percentage points.  The jobless rate of the native born,
at 4.7 percent in 2007, was unchanged from the prior year.

   This news release compares the labor force characteristics of the foreign
born with those of their native-born counterparts.  The data on nativity 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 outside 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
separately identify the numbers of persons in these categories.  For further in-
formation about the survey, see the Technical Note.

Demographic Characteristics

   The demographic characteristics of the foreign-born labor force differ from
those of the native-born labor force.  In 2007, men made up a larger proportion
of the foreign-born labor force (60.3 percent) than they did of the native-born
(52.4 percent) labor force.  Also, a higher proportion of the foreign-born than
the native-born labor force was made up of 25- to 54-year olds (76.4 and 66.6 per-
cent, respectively); labor force participation is typically highest among persons
in that age group.  (See table 1.)

   In 2007, Hispanics comprised 50.0 percent of the foreign-born labor force com-
pared with 7.4 percent of the native-born labor force.  Asians made up 21.9 per-
cent 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 terms of educational attainment, 27.4 percent of the foreign-born labor force
25 years old and over had not completed high school in 2007, compared with 6.0 per-
cent of the native-born labor force.  Similar proportions of foreign-born and native-
born persons in the labor force had a bachelor's or higher degree (31.1 and 34.2 per-
cent, respectively).  Foreign-born workers were less likely than native-born workers
to be high school graduates (with no college) or to have some college or an associate
degree.

Labor Force and Unemployment

   In 2007, about 24 million, or 68.5 percent, of the foreign born were in the labor
force; that rate was little changed from a year earlier.  In contrast, the labor
force participation rate of native-born workers edged down by 0.2 percentage point
to 65.6 percent in 2007.  Over the year, the number of foreign-born labor force par-
ticipants rose by 846,000; this represented about half of the total labor force in-
crease in 2007.  (See table 1.)  From 2000 to 2007, the foreign born accounted for
47.7 percent of the net increase in the civilian labor force.

   Foreign-born men were more likely to be labor force participants (81.9 percent)
than their native-born counterparts (71.6 percent) in 2007.  In contrast, 54.9 per-
cent of foreign-born women were labor force participants compared with 60.1 percent
of native-born women.


                                   - 2 -


   Foreign-born mothers with children under 18 years old were less likely to be labor
force participants than native-born mothers--60.1 versus 73.7 percent.  Among women
with children under age 3, the participation rate for the foreign born was 44.3 per-
cent, while that for the native born was 63.4 percent; both rates edged down over the
year.  The vast majority of both foreign- and native-born fathers with children under
18 were labor force participants--about 94 percent of each group.  (See table 2.)

   The unemployment rate of the foreign born increased from 4.0 percent in 2006 to
4.3 percent in 2007.  Over the year, the jobless rate of the native born held steady
at 4.7 percent.  The unemployment rate of the foreign born was lower than that of the
native born for the third year in a row.  Over the year, the unemployment rate for 
foreign-born men rose from 3.5 to 4.1 percent, while the rate for foreign-born women
was little changed at 4.6 percent.  (See table 1.)

   By region, the foreign born made up a larger share of the total labor force in the
West (24.6 percent) and in the Northeast (18.3 percent) than for the nation as a
whole (15.7 percent).  In contrast, the shares of the labor force made up by foreign-
born workers in the South (13.8 percent) and Midwest (7.5 percent) regions were less
than for the nation.  (See table 6.)

Occupation

   Foreign-born workers in 2007 were more likely than their native-born counterparts
to be employed in service occupations (22.8 versus 15.4 percent); in natural resources,
construction, and maintenance occupations (16.4 versus 9.7 percent), and in production,
transportation, and material moving occupations (16.2 versus 11.7 percent).  In con-
trast, native-born workers were more likely than foreign-born workers to be employed
in management, professional, and related occupations--37.0 versus 27.2 percent.
(See table 4.)

   In 2007, about 1 in 4 foreign-born men were employed in natural resources, con-
struction, and maintenance occupations, while nearly 1 in 3 women were in service
occupations.  As compared with the foreign born, a larger share of native-born
women and men were employed in management, professional, and related occupations.

Earnings

   In 2007, the median usual weekly earnings of foreign-born full-time wage and sal-
ary workers were $554, compared with $722 for the native born.  Among men, median
earnings were $585 per week for the foreign born, compared with $809 for the native
born; the median for foreign-born women was $509, compared with $627 for the native
born.  (See table 5.)

   As with the native born, the earnings of foreign-born workers increased with edu-
cation.  Foreign-born workers 25 years of age and over with less than a high school
education earned $405 per week in 2007, while those with bachelor's degrees and higher
earned about 2.6 times as much--$1,057 a week.

   The gap between the earnings of the foreign-born and the native-born workers nar-
rows with higher levels of education.  Among those with less than a high school di-
ploma, full-time workers who were foreign born earned 84.6 percent as much as their
native-born counterparts.  Among those with a bachelor's degree and higher, foreign-
born workers earned almost the same (98.3 percent) as native-born workers.






                                - 3 -
   
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 sur-
vey 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 pa-
rental 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 2007 are not strictly comparable with
data for 2006 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2007 of
revised population controls used in the CPS.  The effect of the revised popu-
lation controls on the foreign- and native-born estimates is unknown.  However, 
the effect of the new controls on the monthly CPS estimates was to increase the
December 2006 employment level by 153,000 and the unemployment level by 10,000.
The updated controls had little or no effect on unemployment rates and other
ratios.  For additional information, see "Adjustments to Household Survey Popu-
lation Estimates in January 2007" available on the Internet at http://www.bls.
gov/cps/cps07adj.pdf.

   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  (202) 691-5200, TDD message referral
phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

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 de-
pending 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 sam-
pling 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 popu-
lation, 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" at http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf.


                                 - 4 -


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 in that 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 be-
cause 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, 2006-07 annual averages
  
  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                                                            2006                                                 2007                        
                                                                                                                                             
                                                         Civilian labor force                                 Civilian labor force           
                                                                                                                                             
           Characteristic            Civilian                                             Civilian                                           
                                     noninsti-                              Unemployed    noninsti-                              Unemployed  
                                     tutional          Partici-                           tutional         Partici-                          
                                      popula-   Total   pation  Employed                   popula-  Total   pation  Employed                 
                                       tion              rate                       Unem-   tion             rate                       Unem-
                                                                          Number    ploy-                                      Number   ploy-
                                                                                    ment                                                ment 
                                                                                                                                             
                TOTAL                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                             
      Total, 16 years and over.....   228,815 151,428    66.2   144,427    7,001     4.6   231,867 153,124    66.0   146,047    7,078     4.6
    Men............................   110,605  81,255    73.5    77,502    3,753     4.6   112,173  82,136    73.2    78,254    3,882     4.7
    Women..........................   118,210  70,173    59.4    66,925    3,247     4.6   119,694  70,988    59.3    67,792    3,196     4.5
                                                                                                                                             
            FOREIGN BORN                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                             
      Total, 16 years and over.....    33,733  23,148    68.6    22,225      923     4.0    35,017  23,994    68.5    22,967    1,027     4.3
    Men............................    16,989  13,885    81.7    13,395      491     3.5    17,670  14,470    81.9    13,883      588     4.1
    Women..........................    16,743   9,263    55.3     8,831      432     4.7    17,347   9,524    54.9     9,085      439     4.6
                                                                                                                                             
                 Age                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                             
    16 to 24 years...................   4,156   2,501    60.2     2,318      183     7.3     4,205   2,454    58.4     2,266      188     7.7
    25 to 34 years...................   7,997   6,267    78.4     6,027      240     3.8     8,243   6,421    77.9     6,147      274     4.3
    35 to 44 years...................   8,022   6,552    81.7     6,325      227     3.5     8,322   6,782    81.5     6,546      236     3.5
    45 to 54 years...................   5,896   4,740    80.4     4,575      165     3.5     6,278   5,126    81.7     4,930      196     3.8
    55 to 64 years...................   3,707   2,428    65.5     2,340       87     3.6     3,850   2,531    65.7     2,424      107     4.2
    65 years and over................   3,955     660    16.7       640       20     3.1     4,119     680    16.5       655       25     3.7
                                                                                                                                             
          Race and Hispanic                                                                                                                  
       or Latino ethnicity (1)                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                             
    White non-Hispanic or Latino.....   7,329   4,503    61.4     4,344      159     3.5     7,492   4,599    61.4     4,428      171     3.7
    Black non-Hispanic or Latino.....   2,450   1,807    73.7     1,708       99     5.5     2,610   1,901    72.8     1,795      106     5.6
    Asian non-Hispanic or Latino.....   7,481   5,060    67.6     4,917      142     2.8     7,762   5,264    67.8     5,106      158     3.0
    Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.....  16,156  11,549    71.5    11,034      514     4.5    16,817  11,987    71.3    11,405      582     4.9
                                                                                                                                             
       Educational attainment                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                             
      Total, 25 years and over.......  29,576  20,647    69.8    19,908      739     3.6    30,812  21,540    69.9    20,701      839     3.9
    Less than a high school                                                                                                                  
     diploma.........................   9,361   5,865    62.7     5,566      299     5.1     9,456   5,893    62.3     5,585      308     5.2
    High school graduates, no                                                                                                                
     college (2).....................   7,358   5,032    68.4     4,855      177     3.5     7,863   5,400    68.7     5,188      212     3.9
    Some college or associate                                                                                                                
     degree..........................   4,511   3,346    74.2     3,232      114     3.4     4,780   3,538    74.0     3,387      151     4.3
    Bachelor's degree and higher (3).   8,347   6,405    76.7     6,255      149     2.3     8,713   6,709    77.0     6,541      168     2.5
   
                                                                                                                                             
             NATIVE BORN                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                             
      Total, 16 years and over....... 195,082 128,280    65.8   122,202    6,078     4.7   196,850 129,130    65.6   123,079    6,051     4.7
    Men..............................  93,615  67,370    72.0    64,107    3,263     4.8    94,503  67,666    71.6    64,372    3,294     4.9
    Women............................ 101,467  60,910    60.0    58,095    2,815     4.6   102,347  61,464    60.1    58,707    2,757     4.5
                                                                                                                                             
                 Age                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                             
    16 to 24 years...................  32,787  19,893    60.7    17,723    2,170    10.9    33,204  19,763    59.5    17,608    2,155    10.9
    25 to 34 years...................  31,233  26,305    84.2    25,024    1,282     4.9    31,509  26,708    84.8    25,439    1,270     4.8
    35 to 44 years...................  34,731  29,296    84.3    28,244    1,051     3.6    34,079  28,745    84.3    27,756      989     3.4
    45 to 54 years...................  37,005  30,405    82.2    29,477      928     3.1    37,266  30,571    82.0    29,633      938     3.1
    55 to 64 years...................  27,668  17,557    63.5    17,049      508     2.9    28,683  18,219    63.5    17,684      535     2.9
    65 years and over................  31,658   4,824    15.2     4,685      139     2.9    32,109   5,124    16.0     4,959      165     3.2
                                                                                                                                             
          Race and Hispanic                                                                                                                  
       or Latino ethnicity (1)                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                             
    White non-Hispanic or Latino..... 150,979 100,126    66.3    96,262    3,864     3.9   151,596 100,279    66.1    96,411    3,868     3.9
    Black non-Hispanic or Latino.....  23,668  14,905    63.0    13,500    1,405     9.4    23,921  14,961    62.5    13,671    1,290     8.6
    Asian non-Hispanic or Latino.....   2,522   1,552    61.5     1,493       59     3.8     2,708   1,683    62.2     1,620       63     3.7
    Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.....  13,947   9,145    65.6     8,578      567     6.2    14,566   9,615    66.0     8,977      638     6.6
                                                                                                                                             
       Educational attainment                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                             
      Total, 25 years and over....... 162,295 108,387    66.8   104,479    3,908     3.6   163,645 109,367    66.8   105,471    3,896     3.6
    Less than a high school                                                                                                                  
     diploma.........................  18,181   6,893    37.9     6,326      567     8.2    17,177   6,514    37.9     5,936      578     8.9
    High school graduates, no                                                                                                                
     college (2).....................  53,390  33,322    62.4    31,847    1,475     4.4    53,510  33,139    61.9    31,670    1,470     4.4
    Some college or associate                                                                                                                
     degree..........................  44,500  32,064    72.1    30,911    1,152     3.6    45,051  32,349    71.8    31,225    1,124     3.5
    Bachelor's degree and higher (3).  46,224  36,108    78.1    35,394      714     2.0    47,908  37,365    78.0    36,640      725     1.9
  
     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, 2006-07 annual averages
  
  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
                                                                2006                                2007               
                 Characteristic                                                                                        
                                                                                                                       
                                                   Total        Men        Women       Total        Men        Women   
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
                  FOREIGN BORN                                                                                         
                                                                                                                       
           With own children under 18                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    13,239       6,283       6,956      13,970       6,640       7,329  
   Civilian labor force........................    10,068       5,912       4,155      10,667       6,260       4,407  
     Participation rate........................      76.0        94.1        59.7        76.4        94.3        60.1  
    Employed...................................     9,674       5,731       3,943      10,245       6,055       4,190  
     Employment-population ratio...............      73.1        91.2        56.7        73.3        91.2        57.2  
    Unemployed.................................       394         182         212         422         205         217  
     Unemployment rate.........................       3.9         3.1         5.1         4.0         3.3         4.9  
                                                                                                                       
     With own children 6 to 17, none younger                                                                           
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........     6,604       3,050       3,554       6,974       3,252       3,722  
   Civilian labor force........................     5,256       2,828       2,428       5,640       3,029       2,611  
     Participation rate........................      79.6        92.7        68.3        80.9        93.1        70.2  
    Employed...................................     5,052       2,737       2,315       5,431       2,935       2,497  
     Employment-population ratio...............      76.5        89.7        65.1        77.9        90.2        67.1  
    Unemployed.................................       204          91         113         209          94         115  
     Unemployment rate.........................       3.9         3.2         4.6         3.7         3.1         4.4  
                                                                                                                       
            With own children under 6                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........     6,635       3,233       3,402       6,996       3,388       3,608  
   Civilian labor force........................     4,812       3,084       1,727       5,027       3,231       1,795  
     Participation rate........................      72.5        95.4        50.8        71.9        95.4        49.8  
    Employed...................................     4,622       2,994       1,628       4,814       3,120       1,693  
     Employment-population ratio...............      69.7        92.6        47.8        68.8        92.1        46.9  
    Unemployed.................................       190          90         100         213         111         102  
     Unemployment rate.........................       3.9         2.9         5.8         4.2         3.4         5.7  
                                                                                                                       
            With own children under 3                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........     3,805       1,845       1,961       4,087       1,982       2,105  
   Civilian labor force........................     2,658       1,758         900       2,821       1,888         933  
     Participation rate........................      69.8        95.3        45.9        69.0        95.3        44.3  
    Employed...................................     2,552       1,706         846       2,700       1,825         876  
     Employment-population ratio...............      67.1        92.5        43.1        66.1        92.1        41.6  
    Unemployed.................................       105          51          54         120          63          57  
     Unemployment rate.........................       4.0         2.9         6.0         4.3         3.4         6.1  
                                                                                                                       
          With no own children under 18                                                                                
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    20,493      10,706       9,787      21,047      11,030      10,018  
   Civilian labor force........................    13,080       7,973       5,107      13,327       8,210       5,117  
     Participation rate........................      63.8        74.5        52.2        63.3        74.4        51.1  
    Employed...................................    12,552       7,664       4,888      12,722       7,828       4,895  
     Employment-population ratio...............      61.2        71.6        49.9        60.4        71.0        48.9  
    Unemployed.................................       529         309         220         605         383         222  
     Unemployment rate.........................       4.0         3.9         4.3         4.5         4.7         4.3  
                                                                                                                       
                   NATIVE BORN                                                                                         
                                                                                                                       
           With own children under 18                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    52,551      23,118      29,433      52,683      22,996      29,686  
   Civilian labor force........................    43,400      21,774      21,626      43,578      21,699      21,879  
     Participation rate........................      82.6        94.2        73.5        82.7        94.4        73.7  
    Employed...................................    41,768      21,176      20,592      42,005      21,119      20,887  
     Employment-population ratio...............      79.5        91.6        70.0        79.7        91.8        70.4  
    Unemployed.................................     1,632         598       1,034       1,573         581         992  
     Unemployment rate.........................       3.8         2.7         4.8         3.6         2.7         4.5  
                                                                                                                       
     With own children 6 to 17, none younger                                                                           
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    29,775      13,114      16,662      29,861      13,085      16,775  
   Civilian labor force........................    25,296      12,219      13,077      25,413      12,197      13,216  
     Participation rate........................      85.0        93.2        78.5        85.1        93.2        78.8  
    Employed...................................    24,471      11,912      12,559      24,622      11,889      12,733  
     Employment-population ratio...............      82.2        90.8        75.4        82.5        90.9        75.9  
    Unemployed.................................       825         307         518         791         308         483  
     Unemployment rate.........................       3.3         2.5         4.0         3.1         2.5         3.7  
                                                                                                                       
            With own children under 6                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    22,776      10,004      12,772      22,822       9,911      12,911  
   Civilian labor force........................    18,104       9,555       8,549      18,165       9,502       8,663  
     Participation rate........................      79.5        95.5        66.9        79.6        95.9        67.1  
    Employed...................................    17,297       9,264       8,033      17,383       9,230       8,154  
     Employment-population ratio...............      75.9        92.6        62.9        76.2        93.1        63.2  
    Unemployed.................................       807         291         516         782         272         509  
     Unemployment rate.........................       4.5         3.0         6.0         4.3         2.9         5.9  
                                                                                                                       
            With own children under 3                                                                                  
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........    13,433       5,963       7,470      13,406       5,851       7,554  
   Civilian labor force........................    10,481       5,706       4,775      10,412       5,624       4,788  
     Participation rate........................      78.0        95.7        63.9        77.7        96.1        63.4  
    Employed...................................     9,992       5,523       4,469       9,935       5,457       4,478  
     Employment-population ratio...............      74.4        92.6        59.8        74.1        93.3        59.3  
    Unemployed.................................       489         183         306         477         167         310  
     Unemployment rate.........................       4.7         3.2         6.4         4.6         3.0         6.5  
                                                                                                                       
          With no own children under 18                                                                                
                                                                                                                       
  Civilian noninstitutional population.........   142,531      70,497      72,034     144,167      71,506      72,661  
   Civilian labor force........................    84,880      45,596      39,284      85,552      45,967      39,585  
     Participation rate........................      59.6        64.7        54.5        59.3        64.3        54.5  
    Employed...................................    80,434      42,931      37,503      81,074      43,253      37,821  
     Employment-population ratio...............      56.4        60.9        52.1        56.2        60.5        52.1  
    Unemployed.................................     4,446       2,665       1,781       4,478       2,714       1,764  
     Unemployment rate.........................       5.2         5.8         4.5         5.2         5.9         4.5  
  
     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, 2006-07 annual averages
  
  (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                              2006                                      2007                  
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
               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....      940     1,803      1,296     2,647        895     1,850      1,338     2,701  
   Civilian labor force...................      349       971        848     1,969        306     1,035        882     1,991  
     Participation rate...................     37.1      53.8       65.4      74.4       34.1      55.9       65.9      73.7  
    Employed..............................      331       937        819     1,920        292       993        850     1,937  
     Employment-population ratio..........     35.2      52.0       63.1      72.6       32.7      53.7       63.5      71.7  
    Unemployed............................       18        33         30        48         13        42         32        53  
     Unemployment rate....................      5.3       3.4        3.5       2.5        4.3       4.1        3.6       2.7  
                                                                                                                              
        Black non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....      357       648        507       608        318       712        570       654  
   Civilian labor force...................      226       477        416       510        193       515        474       566  
     Participation rate...................     63.2      73.7       81.9      83.9       60.7      72.2       83.2      86.6  
    Employed..............................      207       453        398       495        177       491        445       549  
     Employment-population ratio..........     57.8      69.9       78.4      81.4       55.6      68.9       78.1      84.1  
    Unemployed............................       19        25         18        15         16        24         29        17  
     Unemployment rate....................      8.6       5.2        4.3       3.0        8.4       4.7        6.1       3.0  
                                                                                                                              
        Asian non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....      858     1,340      1,016     3,575        836     1,428      1,066     3,754  
   Civilian labor force...................      391       862        742     2,743        370       924        769     2,889  
     Participation rate...................     45.6      64.3       73.0      76.7       44.3      64.7       72.1      77.0  
    Employed..............................      376       834        721     2,684        359       892        736     2,828  
     Employment-population ratio..........     43.8      62.3       71.0      75.1       43.0      62.5       69.0      75.3  
    Unemployed............................       15        27         21        58         11        32         33        61  
     Unemployment rate....................      3.9       3.2        2.8       2.1        3.0       3.5        4.3       2.1  
                                                                                                                              
        Hispanic or Latino ethnicity                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....    7,167     3,506      1,615     1,424      7,368     3,801      1,726     1,508  
   Civilian labor force...................    4,875     2,677      1,279     1,111      5,001     2,877      1,352     1,189  
     Participation rate...................     68.0      76.4       79.2      78.0       67.9      75.7       78.3      78.9  
    Employed..............................    4,631     2,587      1,234     1,085      4,736     2,764      1,297     1,155  
     Employment-population ratio..........     64.6      73.8       76.4      76.1       64.3      72.7       75.1      76.6  
    Unemployed............................      243        90         46        27        266       112         56        34  
     Unemployment rate....................      5.0       3.4        3.6       2.4        5.3       3.9        4.1       2.9  
                                                                                                                              
                NATIVE BORN                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                              
        White non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....   11,847    42,087     35,100    39,751     11,099    41,790     35,413    41,067  
   Civilian labor force...................    4,369    25,714     24,931    30,787      4,092    25,333     25,048    31,725  
     Participation rate...................     36.9      61.1       71.0      77.4       36.9      60.6       70.7      77.3  
    Employed..............................    4,079    24,773     24,157    30,200      3,783    24,377     24,281    31,150  
     Employment-population ratio..........     34.4      58.9       68.8      76.0       34.1      58.3       68.6      75.9  
    Unemployed............................      289       941        774       586        309       955        767       575  
     Unemployment rate....................      6.6       3.7        3.1       1.9        7.5       3.8        3.1       1.8  
                                                                                                                              
        Black non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....    3,396     6,801      5,215     3,379      3,215     6,938      5,306     3,496  
   Civilian labor force...................    1,236     4,488      3,885     2,762      1,154     4,481      3,948     2,872  
     Participation rate...................     36.4      66.0       74.5      81.7       35.9      64.6       74.4      82.1  
    Employed..............................    1,065     4,115      3,634     2,687      1,003     4,138      3,731     2,788  
     Employment-population ratio..........     31.4      60.5       69.7      79.5       31.2      59.6       70.3      79.7  
    Unemployed............................      171       373        251        75        151       343        216        84  
     Unemployment rate....................     13.8       8.3        6.5       2.7       13.1       7.7        5.5       2.9  
                                                                                                                              
        Asian non-Hispanic or Latino                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....      152       339        391       880        143       397        399       953  
   Civilian labor force...................       55       188        276       710         58       223        287       757  
     Participation rate...................     36.4      55.4       70.6      80.7       40.6      56.0       72.0      79.4  
    Employed..............................       53       183        265       696         56       218        281       734  
     Employment-population ratio..........     35.1      54.0       67.7      79.2       39.4      54.8       70.3      77.0  
    Unemployed............................        2         5         11        13          2         5          7        23  
     Unemployment rate....................      3.4       2.6        4.1       1.9        2.9       2.2        2.3       3.0  
                                                                                                                              
        Hispanic or Latino ethnicity                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
  Civilian noninstitutional population....    2,352     3,232      2,781     1,626      2,275     3,390      2,939     1,784  
   Civilian labor force...................    1,073     2,331      2,222     1,373      1,039     2,468      2,340     1,517  
     Participation rate...................     45.6      72.1       79.9      84.4       45.7      72.8       79.6      85.1  
    Employed..............................      989     2,214      2,143     1,344        942     2,345      2,245     1,489  
     Employment-population ratio..........     42.0      68.5       77.1      82.6       41.4      69.2       76.4      83.5  
    Unemployed............................       85       117         79        29         97       122         94        29  
     Unemployment rate....................      7.9       5.0        3.6       2.1        9.4       5.0        4.0       1.9  
  
     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, 2007 annual
  averages
  
  (Percent distribution)
                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                     
                                                                   Foreign Born                  Native Born         
                        Occupation                                                                                   
                                                                                                                     
                                                            Total      Men      Women     Total      Men      Women  
                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                     
    Total................................................   22,967    13,883     9,085   123,079    64,372    58,707 
    Percent..............................................    100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0     100.0 
                                                                                                                     
  Management, professional, and related occupations......     27.2      25.1      30.4      37.0      34.4      39.9 
   Management, business, and financial operations                                                                    
    occupations..........................................     10.4      10.4      10.4      15.6      17.0      14.1 
    Management occupations...............................      7.4       8.1       6.3      11.2      13.3       8.9 
    Business and financial operations occupations........      3.0       2.3       4.1       4.4       3.7       5.2 
   Professional and related occupations..................     16.8      14.7      20.0      21.4      17.4      25.9 
    Computer and mathematical occupations................      3.4       4.2       2.0       2.2       3.1       1.2 
    Architecture and engineering occupations.............      2.0       2.8        .9       2.0       3.3        .6 
    Life, physical, and social science occupations.......      1.1       1.1       1.2        .9       1.0        .8 
    Community and social services occupations............       .9        .6       1.3       1.7       1.3       2.1 
    Legal occupations....................................       .4        .2        .7       1.3       1.2       1.4 
    Education, training, and library occupations.........      3.2       2.0       5.1       6.3       3.1       9.8 
    Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media                                                                   
     occupations.........................................      1.4       1.3       1.5       2.0       2.0       2.0 
    Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations....      4.4       2.6       7.2       5.1       2.4       8.0 
                                                                                                                     
  Service occupations....................................     22.8      17.3      31.1      15.4      12.3      18.7 
    Healthcare support occupations.......................      2.5        .6       5.4       2.1        .4       3.9 
    Protective service occupations.......................       .8       1.0        .5       2.4       3.5       1.1 
    Food preparation and serving related occupations.....      7.5       7.1       8.1       4.8       3.7       6.1 
    Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance                                                                    
     occupations.........................................      8.3       7.4       9.7       2.9       3.5       2.2 
    Personal care and service occupations................      3.6       1.2       7.4       3.2       1.3       5.3 
                                                                                                                     
  Sales and office occupations...........................     17.5      12.4      25.1      26.2      17.9      35.2 
    Sales and related occupations........................      9.1       7.8      11.0      11.9      11.4      12.4 
    Office and administrative support occupations........      8.4       4.7      14.1      14.3       6.5      22.8 
                                                                                                                     
  Natural resources, construction, and maintenance                                                                   
   occupations...........................................     16.4      26.0       1.7       9.7      17.8        .9 
    Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations...........      1.6       2.1        .9        .5        .7        .2 
    Construction and extraction occupations..............     11.8      19.1        .5       5.6      10.3        .4 
    Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations....      3.0       4.8        .3       3.7       6.8        .3 
                                                                                                                     
  Production, transportation, and material moving                                                                    
   occupations...........................................     16.2      19.2      11.7      11.7      17.6       5.3 
    Production occupations...............................      9.3       9.6       8.8       5.9       8.1       3.5 
    Transportation and material moving occupations.......      6.9       9.6       2.9       5.8       9.5       1.9 
  
     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, 2006-07 annual averages
 
 (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                                         2006                                         2007                    
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
                                        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.........   17,267     $532   88,839     $698    76.2    17,876     $554   89,463     $722    76.8 
 Men................................   10,931      563   48,816      782    72.0    11,329      585   48,969      809    72.3 
 Women..............................    6,336      502   40,022      611    82.1     6,547      509   40,494      627    81.2 
                                                                                                                              
                 AGE                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                              
   16 to 24 years...................    1,608      379    9,753      414    91.5     1,650      391    9,599      435    89.8 
   25 to 34 years...................    5,008      508   20,407      647    78.4     5,078      520   20,792      669    77.8 
   35 to 44 years...................    5,035      597   22,159      776    76.9     5,186      604   21,814      807    74.7 
   45 to 54 years...................    3,567      612   22,814      801    76.4     3,816      615   22,877      817    75.2 
   55 to 64 years...................    1,703      608   11,919      787    77.3     1,761      632   12,435      828    76.3 
   65 years and over................      345      554    1,787      588    94.3       386      518    1,946      622    83.3 
                                                                                                                              
        RACE AND HISPANIC OR                                                                                                  
        LATINO ETHNICITY (2)                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                              
   White non-Hispanic or Latino ....    3,051      765   68,410      740   103.3     3,084      805   68,484      762   105.6 
   Black non-Hispanic or Latino ....    1,349      563   10,939      557   101.1     1,442      585   11,160      569   102.8 
   Asian non-Hispanic or Latino ....    3,685      790    1,066      789   100.1     3,876      832    1,188      832   100.0 
   Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.....    9,010      430    6,683      572    75.1     9,297      448    6,904      605    74.0 
                                                                                                                              
       EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                              
     Total, 25 years and over.......   15,659      575   79,085      743    77.4    16,225      586   79,864      763    76.7 
   Less than a high school                                                                                                    
    diploma.........................    4,542      396    4,487      462    85.8     4,582      405    4,164      479    84.6 
   High school graduates, no                                                                                                  
    college (3).....................    3,813      507   24,210      607    83.5     3,928      511   24,069      617    82.9 
   Some college or associate                                                                                                  
    degree..........................    2,446      613   23,580      701    87.4     2,539      617   23,651      714    86.5 
   Bachelor's degree and higher (4).    4,857    1,024   26,808    1,042    98.2     5,177    1,057   27,980    1,075    98.3 
 
    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, 2006-07 annual
averages

(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                             
                                                 2006                                                        2007                            
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                                              Civilian labor force                                        Civilian labor force               
 Census region  and    Civilian                                                    Civilian                                                  
     division          noninsti-                                                   noninsti-                                                 
                       tutional                                     Unemployed     tutional                                     Unemployed   
                        popula-            Partici-                                 popula-             Partici-                             
                         tion       Total   pation    Employed              Unem-    tion      Total     pation   Employed              Unem-
                                             rate                Number     ploy-                         rate               Number     ploy-
                                                                            ment                                                        ment 
                                                                            rate                                                        rate 
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
     FOREIGN BORN                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                             
  Northeast...........    7,494     4,992     66.6      4,775       217      4.3      7,742     5,113     66.0      4,887       225      4.4 
    New England.......    1,481     1,017     68.7        968        49      4.8      1,540     1,062     68.9      1,018        43      4.1 
    Middle Atlantic...    6,012     3,974     66.1      3,807       168      4.2      6,202     4,051     65.3      3,869       182      4.5 
                                                                                                                                             
  South...............   10,289     7,304     71.0      7,061       243      3.3     10,711     7,536     70.4      7,265       272      3.6 
    South Atlantic....    6,263     4,462     71.2      4,322       140      3.1      6,434     4,602     71.5      4,431       171      3.7 
    East South                                                                                                                               
     Central..........      531       388     73.1        373        15      3.8        567       424     74.8        412        12      2.9 
    West South                                                                                                                               
     Central..........    3,495     2,454     70.2      2,366        88      3.6      3,709     2,510     67.7      2,422        88      3.5 
                                                                                                                                             
  Midwest.............    3,659     2,542     69.5      2,434       107      4.2      3,791     2,626     69.3      2,506       120      4.6 
    East North                                                                                                                               
     Central..........    2,797     1,914     68.4      1,832        82      4.3      2,923     1,996     68.3      1,906        90      4.5 
    West North                                                                                                                               
     Central..........      862       628     72.9        602        26      4.1        868       630     72.6        600        30      4.8 
                                                                                                                                             
  West................   12,291     8,310     67.6      7,955       356      4.3     12,773     8,719     68.3      8,309       410      4.7 
    Mountain..........    2,115     1,479     70.0      1,424        56      3.8      2,178     1,513     69.5      1,453        61      4.0 
    Pacific...........   10,176     6,831     67.1      6,531       300      4.4     10,595     7,206     68.0      6,857       349      4.8 
                                                                                                                                             
     NATIVE BORN                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
  Northeast...........   35,260    22,895     64.9     21,829     1,066      4.7     35,327    22,881     64.8     21,863     1,018      4.4 
    New England.......    9,749     6,608     67.8      6,306       302      4.6      9,770     6,623     67.8      6,322       301      4.5 
    Middle Atlantic...   25,512    16,288     63.8     15,524       764      4.7     25,556    16,257     63.6     15,541       717      4.4 
                                                                                                                                             
  South...............   72,469    46,624     64.3     44,473     2,151      4.6     73,484    47,086     64.1     44,994     2,092      4.4 
    South Atlantic....   37,577    24,360     64.8     23,332     1,028      4.2     38,242    24,749     64.7     23,708     1,041      4.2 
    East South                                                                                                                               
     Central..........   13,155     8,188     62.2      7,757       431      5.3     13,223     8,199     62.0      7,792       407      5.0 
    West South                                                                                                                               
     Central..........   21,737    14,077     64.8     13,384       692      4.9     22,019    14,139     64.2     13,494       645      4.6 
                                                                                                                                             
  Midwest.............   47,428    32,401     68.3     30,778     1,623      5.0     47,517    32,377     68.1     30,697     1,680      5.2 
    East North                                                                                                                               
     Central..........   32,840    22,063     67.2     20,863     1,200      5.4     32,930    22,073     67.0     20,827     1,245      5.6 
    West North                                                                                                                               
     Central..........   14,588    10,339     70.9      9,916       423      4.1     14,587    10,305     70.6      9,870       435      4.2 
                                                                                                                                             
  West................   39,925    26,358     66.0     25,121     1,238      4.7     40,522    26,786     66.1     25,525     1,261      4.7 
    Mountain..........   13,523     9,199     68.0      8,832       367      4.0     13,893     9,417     67.8      9,080       337      3.6 
    Pacific...........   26,402    17,159     65.0     16,288       871      5.1     26,629    17,368     65.2     16,445       923      5.3 

   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 26, 2008