2003 Foreign-born Workers: Labor Force Characteristics — 2004-12-01

In 2003, foreign-born workers made up about 14 percent of the U.S. civil- ian labor force age 16 and over, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. About 21.1 million, or 67.4 percent of the foreign born, were in the labor force, compared with 66.1 percent of the na- tive born. The unemployment rates for the foreign born and native born in 2003 were 6.6 and 5.9 percent, respectively, both slightly higher than in 2002. This news release compares the labor force characteristics of the foreign born with those of their native-born counterparts. These data on nativity are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of households that is the primary source of in- formation on the nation's labor force. The foreign born are persons re- siding in the United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth.