Unemployed American immigrants at record low

New data shows that the number of unemployed immigrants in the United States has reached a record low.

According to the latest Bureau of Labour Statistics data, the unemployment rate among foreign workers in the US stood at 3.7 per cent in May – 1 per cent lower than the overall unemployment rate in the US.

The figures also show that last year nearly 17 percent of the US labour force was composed of foreign-born workers.

It is the 11th consecutive year since the government began tracking the data that foreign-born people in the US have been more likely to be employed or looking for work.

According to Professor Giovanni Peri at the University of California-Davis, one of the main reasons for the low unemployment rate among foreign workers is that immigrants are more motivated to secure employment as, in the majority of instances, that is what they have moved to the country with the purpose of doing.

“Because immigrants approach the jobs market more aggressively they tend to secure employment quickly, benefiting from the current state of the US economy,” he said. “The economy is creating many jobs and immigrants who have high employment rates in general are taking them.”

It should be noted that the Labour Department doesn’t distinguish among foreign-born workers who are naturalized US citizens, permanent or temporary legal residents and undocumented workers whose employers hire them illegally.

Commentators indicate that the low level unemployment figures among US foreign workers can be attributed to the current strength of the US labour market. Overall unemployment numbers in the US are at their lowest since July 2007.

Article by David Fuller