Oregon’s Foreign-Born Workers
February 19, 2025Oregon has a sizable immigrant population with an important impact on the labor market. According to the American Community Survey (ACS) 2022 five-year estimates, around 10% of Oregonians (413,000) were born in a different country. A slightly higher proportion of Oregon’s workforce was foreign-born, totaling just over 13% of the workforce.
Foreign-born workers were especially concentrated in a few industries. Over 17% of foreign-born workers were employed in the manufacturing sector, compared with 10% of native-born Oregonian workers. Similarly, foreign-born workers were almost three times more likely to work in agriculture. More than 6% of foreign-born workers were employed in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining compared with just over 2% of native workers. On the other hand, native-born workers had especially high concentrations relative to their foreign-born counterparts in educational services, and health care and social assistance (24% as opposed to 19%) and retail trade (12% as opposed to 8%).
Foreign-Born Workers Average Lower Unemployment Rates, Lower Wages
Oregon’s foreign-born population tended to have lower unemployment rates and higher rates of labor force participation than their native-born counterparts. During this period, foreign-born workers had an average unemployment rate of 4.1% compared with the 5.7% unemployment rate for native born workers. Similarly, 68.6% of foreign-born Oregonians participated in the labor force, higher than the 61.7% rate for native-born workers.
At the same time, the median wage for foreign-born workers was lower than for native born workers. The median annual wage in the survey period for native born workers was around $59,600, almost $10,000 higher than the $49,800 median wage for foreign-born workers.
Foreign-Born Workers Have Distinct Educational Makeup
Foreign-born workers were simultaneously more likely than their native-born counterparts to have less than a high school diploma or to have a graduate or professional degree. Around 27% of foreign-born workers did not have the equivalent of a high school degree, much higher than the 6% for native-born workers. At the same time, 16% of foreign-born workers had a graduate or professional degree, higher than the 13% of native-born workers.
Most Foreign-Born Workers from Latin America, Asia
As a supplement to the ACS estimates, Public Access Micro Data from the Census Bureau provide more detail about the region of birth for Oregon’s immigrant workers. According to the micro data 2022 five-year estimates, the highest percentage of foreign-born workers came from Latin America. Workers from this region accounted for 44% of workers. Workers from Asia comprised the next largest percentage of foreign-born workers, accounting for 30%. Workers born in Europe (17%), Africa (4%), Northern America (3%), and Oceana and at Sea (2%) comprise the remaining percentage.
Most Regions Continue Trend of Lower Unemployment Rates
The trend in for lower unemployment rates and higher rates of labor force participation generally held true for foreign-born workers regardless of region of birth. Although not officially published numbers, the micro data can be used to get a rough approximation of the unemployment rate for each region of birth. Oregon workers born in Northern America had the lowest unemployment rate at roughly 3%. Workers born in Latin America (3%), Asia (4%), Europe (4%), Oceania and at Sea (5%) also had unemployment rates lower than the 5.5% average for all workers. Only workers born in Africa had a higher rate at 7%.
Foreign-born workers also generally had higher labor force participation rates regardless of region of birth. During this five-year period, the labor force participation rate was 62.5% for all Oregon workers. Foreign-born populations for all regions except for Northern America had higher than average participation rates. Workers born in Latin America had the highest labor force participation rate at roughly 75%, a rate more than 10% higher than the total for all workers. This was also true for individuals born in Oceania and at Sea who had a 74% participation rate. Individuals born in Africa (68%), Asia (64%), Europe (63%) had similar labor force participation rates to the total for all workers. Only workers born in Northern America had a lower labor force participation rate at 56%.