Immigrants Drove Majority of US Labor Force Expansion in 2022

Immigrants accounted for almost 60% of the growth in the US labor force last year, helping ease acute shortages in industries like health care and construction.

Roughly 1.8 million foreign-born workers joined the labor force in 2022, compared with 1.3 million native-born ones, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published Thursday.

Immigration to the US began to slow under President Donald Trump, as a slew of restrictions were imposed, and it came to a near-halt early in the pandemic amid border shutdowns and curbs on travel. The latest numbers show that the shortfall has been reversed. The nation’s ...