Foreign-Born Workers in the United States
December 2019 | Jennifer G. Hickey
According to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in 2018, there were 28.2 million foreign-born individuals legally working in the U.S. labor force, which is 17.4 percent of the total workforce. The actual number of foreign-born workers likely is higher as this data does not include either persons illegally employed or illegal immigrants who have been granted temporary protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Permanent Status (TPS) programs.
The share of the labor force which is foreign-born has continued to increase over the decades. For example, in 2000, foreign nationals made up 13.3 percent of the labor force, compared to 17.4 percent in 2018. With a robust economy, the trend is unlikely to reverse course in coming years.
https://www.fairus.org/issue/workforce-economy/foreign-born-workers-united-states
