In 2023, nearly one-fifth of the workforce was born abroad: of the 160.2 million people in the U.S. workforce, about 29.7 million were immigrants. This represents an increase from 2010, when immigrants made up 15.6% of the workforce.
Immigrants are employed in various industries, with concentrations in education, health, and professional services.
Which industries employ the largest number of immigrants?
Educational and health services employed the largest number of immigrants—5.5 million, or 18.4% of all foreign-born employees in 2023. Next are professional and business services, with 4.7 million (15.8%), and construction, with 3.3 million (11.1%).
Educational and health services also employed the largest number of U.S.-born workers—31.4 million people, or nearly 25% of all native workers in the workforce.
Wholesale and retail trade employs another 12.6%, and professional and business services rank third with 12.1%.
The mining industry had the lowest number of both foreign-born and U.S.-born individuals: it employed about 74,000 foreign-born workers in 2023, about 0.2% of employed immigrants, and around 517,000 natives (0.4%).
Which industries have the highest percentage of immigrants in their workforces?
The construction industry had the highest percentage of immigrant workers in 2023: an estimated 3.3 million, or 28.6% of all people employed in this industry.
The second highest percentage of immigrant workers was in professional and business services, at 22.9%. The third highest was “Other services”—a broad category that includes a variety of services such as auto repair, barber and beauty shops, and religious organizations—at 21.9%.
Which industries saw the greatest growth in immigrant employment?
The number of employed immigrants grew in all industries except two, between 2010 and 2023, with numbers growing more rapidly in some sectors than in others. The most substantial growth was in the transportation and utilities, professional and business services, and construction industries, all of which saw their foreign-born workforce increase by at least 5 percentage points.
Source: USA Facts