The FRED Blog has discussed the migration of persons in and out of the US and some of the economic impacts of short-term disruptions to these flows. Today, we discuss the labor market experiences of immigrants to the US by highlighting recent research from the St. Louis Fed.

The FRED graph above shows the employment-to-population ratios for native-born (blue lines) and foreign-born (red lines) men and women (solid and dashed lines, respectively). The employment-to-population ratio is reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); as the name suggests, it represents the fraction of each population group that’s employed.

Between 2007 and 2024, foreign-born men were employed in larger proportions than native-born men. That difference has steadily ranged, on average, between 15% and 17%. During the same period, native-born and foreign-born women were employed in very similar proportions. That employment-to-population gap has been steadily declining. Lastly, the broad outline of gender gaps in labor market outcomes are also visible in the BLS data shown above.

Recent research from Serdar Birinci and Fernando Leibovici at the St. Louis Fed and Kurt See at the Bank of Canada helps tell the story behind the numbers.

Their analysis finds that recent immigrants are more likely to be without a job, as well as employed in occupations with low pay, than more established immigrants. They also find that English proficiency and country of origin impact those labor market outcomes. In-depth analysis of the data also reveals that native- and foreign-born women engage very differently in non-market occupations, such as unpaid household work.

For more about this and other research, visit the website of the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, which offers an array of economic analysis and expertise provided by our staff.

How this graph was created: In FRED, search for and select “Employment-Population Ratio – Native Born, Men.” From the “Edit Graph” panel, use the “Add Line” tab to add the other three series: “Employment-Population Ratio – Foreign Born, Men,” “Employment-Population Ratio – Native Born, Women,” and “Employment-Population Ratio – Foreign Born, Women.” Lastly, use the “Format” tab to change the lines color and style.

Suggested by Hannah Edwards and Diego Mendez-Carbajo.