Jobs report: Employment for native-born and foreign-born workers in September

The jobs report for September released Friday showed that employment rose for native-born and fell for foreign-born workers.

Over the past year, though, employment has fallen by 825,000 for native workers and risen by 1.2 million for the foreign-born.

The breakdown of jobs by native versus foreign birth has gained interest in recent months for several reasons. One is that Republicans have argued that President Joe Biden’s policies have favored immigrants. Another is that the large number of immigrants in recent years may be adding to economic growth in a way that is not adequately accounted for in some government statistics.

The household survey included in the monthly jobs report shows employment for both categories of workers. The numbers, which are not adjusted for seasonal variations, are separate from the payroll jobs reported from the larger survey of business establishments. Because the survey is smaller, the numbers bounce around more.

In September, employment for native-born workers rose by 920,000, to 130.6 million.

Employment for foreign-born workers, meanwhile, dipped in the month by 222,000 to 31.4 million.

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One important note is that the native-born population is shrinking, and many people are aging out of the workforce.

So the absolute number of native-born workers might be stalling, but unemployment for native-born workers remains low by historical standards.