Fact Check: Nearly 20% of US workers were immigrants last year, a record high.

Fact Check: "Nearly 20% of US workers were immigrants last year, a record high."

What We Know

The claim states that nearly 20% of US workers were immigrants last year, which implies a significant portion of the workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, foreign-born workers accounted for a record high of 18.1% of the U.S. civilian labor force in 2022, up from 17.4% in 2021 (BLS). This data indicates that while the percentage is indeed high, it does not reach the 20% mark as claimed.

Additionally, other sources provide varying statistics on the immigrant workforce. For instance, a report from USAFacts estimates that over 32 million immigrants were part of the workforce, which translates to approximately 19% of the total workforce of 169 million (USAFacts). This figure suggests that while the claim is close to accurate, it still does not definitively state that 20% of workers were immigrants.

Analysis

The claim of "nearly 20%" can be seen as a rounding up of the actual figure of 18.1%. This is a common practice in statistics, where figures are often rounded for simplicity. However, it is crucial to clarify that the exact percentage does not meet the threshold of 20%.

The source from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is credible and reliable, as it is a government agency responsible for collecting and analyzing labor data. The 18.1% figure is based on comprehensive surveys and reflects a consistent upward trend in the share of foreign-born workers since data collection began in 1996 (BLS).

Conversely, the USAFacts report, while also credible, presents a slightly different perspective by focusing on the total number of immigrant workers, which can lead to confusion if not contextualized properly. The 19% figure mentioned here is based on a broader definition of the workforce, which may include various categories of workers not strictly defined as "foreign-born" in the BLS report (USAFacts).

Conclusion

The claim that "nearly 20% of US workers were immigrants last year" is Partially True. While the percentage of foreign-born workers in the U.S. labor force reached a record high of 18.1% in 2022, it does not officially reach 20%. The use of "nearly" is somewhat justified but could lead to misinterpretation without proper context.

Sources

1. Foreign-Born Workers: Labor Force Characteristics - 2024
2. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics - United States Department of Homeland Security
3. Foreign-born workers were a record high 18.1 percent ...
4. The Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2022
5. How many immigrants are in the American workforce? - USAFacts
6. Key findings about U.S. immigrants | Pew Research Center
7. Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States