2010 Foreign-born Workers: Labor Force Characteristics — 2011-05-27

The unemployment rate for the foreign born was 9.8 percent in 2010, little changed from a year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The jobless rate of the native born was 9.6 percent in 2010, up from 9.2 percent in 2009. The foreign born made up 15.8 percent of the labor force in 2010. This news release compares the labor force characteristics of the foreign born with those of the native born. 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.