Mexican-Born Persons in the U.S. Civilian Labor Force

This fact sheet examines demographic and labor market characteristics of Mexican-born workers in the United States and compares them to those of all foreign-born as well as native-born U.S. workers. The report focuses on workers age 16 and over who participated in the U.S. civilian labor force in 2006.

The report finds that the Mexican foreign-born make up almost 5 percent of the civilian labor force, and account for nearly a third of all foreign-born workers in the United States. According to the analysis, the Mexican foreign-born population outperformed both overall native and foreign-born groups in terms of labor market participation in 2006, with over 70 percent of Mexican-born adults in the civilian labor force. The unemployment rate of the Mexican-born in 2006 was also lower than that of the native-born, although slightly higher than that of the total foreign-born population.

In addition, the report indicates that the Mexican-born workforce tends to be younger, male-dominated, and less educated than the overall native and foreign-born stock. Over half of all employed Mexican-born persons worked in service and construction occupations. Compared with their native-born and foreign-born counterparts, foreign-born Mexicans were underrepresented in management, professional, and related occupations, as well as in the educational and health industries.