As of September 2024, nearly one-in-five members of the U.S. labor force was foreign-born, up from roughly one-in-nine at the turn of the century. In several states, well over a quarter of the labor force is foreign-born, and certain industries (e.g., construction) rely heavily on the labor supplied by this population. In this presentation, we focus on using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and American Community Survey (ACS) to provide an objective description of the foreign-born U.S. population, its current role in America’s workforce, and how that role has evolved over time.

Learning Objective 1: Characteristics of the foreign-born – Provide attendees detailed knowledge about the basic characteristics of the foreign-born population (e.g., size, growth over time, distribution across the United States, distribution by country of origin).

Learning Objective 2: Representation in the U.S. workforce – Summarize foreign-born representation in the U.S. labor force, including information about the industries, occupational groups, and local labor markets that rely most on foreign-born labor.

Learning Objective 3: Trends over time – With new immigrants entering the U.S. every year, the foreign-born population is changing constantly, with significant implications for the U.S. workforce. Attendees will gain a detailed understanding of these critical trends.