http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00498.html

Immigrants' Jobless Rate Falls Below U.S. Natives'

By Neil Irwin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 7, 2006; D01

The jobless rate among immigrants fell below that of U.S.-born workers last year for the first time in at least a decade, according to new government data, during a hiring boom by construction, hospitality, and other companies that rely heavily on immigrant labor.

Unemployment among immigrants was 4.6 percent in 2005, down from 5.5 percent in 2004. The jobless rate among native-born Americans was 5.2 percent, down from 5.5 percent a year before.

Joblessness among immigrants has been as high or higher than that of native-born Americans in every previous year the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics has compiled such data, which it started doing in 1996. The survey includes immigrants who arrived in the United States legally and illegally and does not distinguish between the two.

The new figures come as Senate leaders have reached agreement on legislation that would allow many illegal immigrants to pursue legal status and as an intense debate over immigration roils the political world.

"There aren't a lot of immigrants working in manufacturing, which has been hard hit; they don't work as much in professional services, which is still sluggish," said Charles W. McMillion, chief economist of District-based research firm MBG Information Services. "They do work in health care, which is booming. They work in bars and restaurants, which have been booming, and in construction, which continues to be strong."

The number of jobs in the construction sector rose 4.3 percent in 2005, compared with 1.5 percent overall job growth. In 2004, 15.8 percent of foreign-born men worked in construction and related industries, compared with 10.2 percent of native-born men.

Put all those numbers together, and it amounts to jobs being created most rapidly in sectors where immigrants have the strongest footholds. When companies that already employ significant numbers of people born outside the United States are expanding, they tend to recruit workers through the friends and families of existing workers, a phenomenon economists call the network effect.

To some economists, the Labor Department data suggest that immigrants, more so than in the past, are pursuing jobs more aggressively than their native-born counterparts.

"The pressure on immigrants to work, especially immigrant men, is very strong," said Harry Holzer, a public policy professor at Georgetown University and senior fellow at the Urban Institute. "They have to bring home the bacon and just don't have the luxury of doing otherwise."

He notes that some government welfare programs are closed off to immigrants, especially those who entered the country illegally. And people whose families have been in the United States for two or more generations may have the savings and support networks to just keep looking for work rather than accept a job with unpleasant working conditions.

That divide is particularly visible among Hispanics. Native-born Hispanics had a 7.2 percent unemployment rate in 2005, according to the new data. Foreign-born Hispanics who are not U.S. citizens had a 5.5 percent unemployment rate. Foreign-born Hispanics who are naturalized citizens had only a 3.6 percent jobless rate.

One factor in the low jobless rates among naturalized immigrants is that to be in the country legally, many needed to be sponsored by an employer. "This is a group composed almost exclusively of people who came here through a labor certification," said Rakesh Kochhar, associate director for research at the Pew Hispanic Center.

He notes another possible reason for lower joblessness among immigrants: If they have trouble finding a job, they may be inclined to return to their home country temporarily, whereas native-born workers have no comparable option.

The trend of lower joblessness among immigrants held true in each local jurisdiction, though state numbers are based on small samples subject to significant statistical error. In the District, 3.9 percent of immigrants were jobless, compared with 6.7 percent of native-born workers. In Maryland, 3.4 percent of workers were jobless, compared with 4.3 percent of native-born workers. And in Virginia, 2 percent of immigrants were unemployed, compared with 3.7 percent of native-born workers.

The data are based on the same survey of about 60,000 households that provides the raw material for the unemployment rate and other labor force indicators released each month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not yet issued its formal report publishing the survey results, but it made preliminary data available on request. CNN/Money first reported on the data yesterday afternoon.