In May 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its latest report on foreign-born workers in the United States. At Amtec, where we specialize in staffing and workforce analysis, we’ve reviewed the full report to highlight the most relevant trends. This article presents a clear, data-rich summary of the 2024 immigrant labor force statistics, which includes labor participation rates, employment demographics, wage disparities, educational attainment, occupational concentrations, and geographic trends.

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Foreign-Born Workers Made Up 18.6% of the U.S. Workforce

In 2024, 31.4 million foreign-born individuals were part of the U.S. labor force, representing 18.6% of all civilian workers. This is a continued rise from 2023’s 18.1% share and reflects long-term population and labor force trends, especially in key industries such as construction, hospitality, and healthcare.

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Labor Force Participation and Employment Rates

Foreign-born workers had a higher labor force participation rate than their native-born counterparts:

• 66.0% of immigrants were working or seeking work
• 61.7% of native-born individuals were participating in the labor force

The employment-population ratio was also higher among immigrants:

• 64.5% of the foreign-born population was employed
• 59.2% of native-born individuals were employed

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Immigrant Unemployment Remained Low

The unemployment rate for foreign-born workers was 3.4% in 2024, compared to 3.6% for native-born workers. This marks the third consecutive year immigrant unemployment has stayed at or below the national average.

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Demographic Profile: Age and Gender

Foreign-born workers were more concentrated in the 25–54 age group, with 70.8% falling in that prime working-age range, compared to 61.3% of native-born workers.

• 57.2% of foreign-born workers were men
• 42.8% were women

Among native-born workers, the split was more even:

• 51.3% men
• 48.7% women

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Wage Gaps by Nativity and Gender

Median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers in 2024 were:

• $983 for foreign-born workers
• $1,140 for native-born workers

Among immigrant workers:

• Men earned $1,043 per week
• Women earned $853, or about 81.8% of male earnings

Among native-born workers, women earned 83.6% of what men earned.

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Education Levels: A Wider Spread

Immigrant labor force statistics show a broader range of educational attainment:

• 23.1% had not completed high school
• 39.5% held a bachelor’s degree or higher

For native-born workers:

• Only 4.3% had less than a high school education
• 45.5% had a bachelor’s or advanced degree

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Top Occupations with High Immigrant Shares

The BLS data revealed that certain occupations have a disproportionately high share of immigrant workers:

Occupation	Immigrant Share
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	37.3%
Building and Grounds Cleaning	37.2%
Construction and Extraction	27.6%
Food Preparation and Serving	26.1%
Transportation and Material Moving	25.4%

These jobs tend to be labor-intensive and reflect longstanding patterns of immigrant employment across the U.S.

Read More: 25 Highest-Paying Trade Jobs (Official U.S. Labor Data)

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Hours Worked and Self-Employment Rates

Foreign-born full-time workers averaged 38.9 hours per week, slightly more than the 38.6 hours worked by native-born employees.

Self-employment remains a notable form of work for immigrants:

• 9.2% of immigrant workers were self-employed in unincorporated businesses
• Compared to 6.1% of native-born workers

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Citizenship and English Usage

Of the 31.4 million foreign-born workers:

• 52.1% were naturalized citizens
• 47.9% were non-citizens

Language use:

• 55.2% reported speaking English “very well”
• 15.3% spoke only English at home

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U.S. Regions with the Largest Immigrant Workforces

The May 2025 BLS report reveals that immigrant labor remains concentrated in key regions of the country. In 2024, the distribution of foreign-born workers was:

• 29.5% in the South
• 28.4% in the West
• 21.9% in the Northeast
• 20.1% in the Midwest

Together, the South and West accounted for over half of the nation’s immigrant workforce. These regions continue to attract foreign-born workers across industries such as healthcare, construction, logistics, and hospitality fields, where demand for labor remains consistently high.

Related: California Minimum Wage 2025: New Rates and What They Mean

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Closing Note

The May 2025 BLS report on immigrant labor force statistics highlights a defining trend: immigrant workers are not just participating—they’re increasingly vital to the health and growth of the U.S. workforce. With nearly 1 in 5 workers born outside the U.S., immigrants are contributing to higher labor force participation rates, filling critical roles in both high-skill and high-demand occupations, and helping offset demographic shifts in native-born employment. This year’s data underscores how the immigrant labor force is reshaping the American employment landscape.

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Source:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Characteristics of Foreign-born Workers — 2024 (published May 20, 2025)