Majority of employment growth since COVID-19 goes to immigrants, report finds
FILE-Migrant workers harvest organic parsley at a farm in Wellington, Colorado. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
A recent report shows that most of the employment growth in the U.S. since the pandemic has gone to immigrants.
Immigrant employment soared to 3.2 million since 2019 compared to U.S.-born employment, which rose to 917,000, as employment among Americans dipped narrowly in the past year, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
But despite a surge in employment rates for immigrants, labor force participation for less-educated U.S.-born men in the "prime" 25-54 age range remains at historic lows compared to previous years.
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A surge in immigration in the past three years has boosted the size of the U.S. workforce and has been pivotal to job growth.
U.S. employers added 272,000 jobs in May, accelerating from April and a sign that companies are still confident enough in the economy to keep hiring despite persistently high interest rates, the Associated Press noted, citing a May jobs report from the federal government.
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May’s job improvement implies that the economy is still growing steadily, supported by consumer spending on travel, entertainment, and other services.
According to the AP, the unemployment rate increased for a second consecutive month to 4%, from 3.9%, ending a span of 27 months with an unemployment rate under 4%.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.