May 13, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Foreign-born workers and occupations, 2004

In 2004, the largest group of foreign-born workers was employed in management, professional, and related occupations (26.5 percent). This was also the case for native-born workers, with 36.3 percent of them employed in this occupational category.

[Chart data—TXT]

An additional 22.8 percent of foreign-born workers were employed in service occupations and 18.4 percent were in sales and office occupations, as were 15.2 and 26.7 percent, respectively, of the native-born workers.

Reflecting the downward trend in manufacturing employment as a whole, the proportions of both foreign-born and native-born workers employed in production, transportation, and material moving occupations declined from 2000 to 2004. In 2000, 20.4 percent of foreign-born and 13.8 percent of native-born workers were employed in these occupations. In 2004, the proportions were 17.5 percent for the foreign born and 12.1 percent for the native born.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. Find more information in "Labor Force Characteristics of Foreign-born Workers in 2004," news release USDL 05-834.