New immigrants fill niche positions.
According to the Immigration Policy Center, immigrants made up 15.5 percent of the U.S. labor force in 2009. Although debate over whether new immigrants take away jobs from native-born Americans is ongoing, 2009 statistics from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show that the top occupations for native-born Americans differed from the top occupations for foreign-born workers. Immigrant workers are concentrated in low-skill sectors.
Construction
The 2009 CBO statistics indicated that nearly twice as many new immigrants as native-born Americans work in construction and excavation. Construction work is typically seasonal and may not offer benefits. New immigrants are often hired when needed as day labor. Because construction is tied to the economy, job availability in this sector varies, and it can influence the areas where immigrants choose to live as well as their household incomes.
Agriculture
Much of agricultural work is physical, performed in challenging weather conditions and pays minimum wage. Not surprisingly, the rigorous conditions mean that most Americans avoid agricultural occupations, leaving the work of growing and harvesting the nation's food supply to immigrants without the education to qualify for better jobs. Some immigrant agricultural workers find stable employment with a single farming enterprise. Others work for multiple farms in a single area, or travel to farms in different states throughout the year.
Hospitality
Some private and public sector institutions such as hotels and universities hire new immigrants for positions in housekeeping and grounds maintenance. Other immigrants work in restaurants filling positions such as food preparers and dishwashers. Typically, public sector jobs offer better wages, long-term employment and benefits for documented immigrants. Private sector jobs can offer less stability, may not offer health insurance and in some cases tend to attract undocumented immigrants.
Health Care
While new immigrants tend to fill less-popular occupations, not all new immigrant jobs fall in the unskilled labor category. The 2009 CBO statistics revealed that the health care sector has many foreign-born workers. Although economic slowdowns impact hiring trends in the health care industry, foreign-born health care workers are expected to continue to fill physician and nursing shortages for the immediate future.
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