The number of foreign-born workers in the United States has declined by nearly one million since President Donald Trump took office in January, reversing a trend that had driven much of the country’s job growth in 2024, according to Labor Department data released Friday.
The foreign-born population dropped by 1.9 million people between January and August, from 50.4 million to 48.5 million, while employment among foreign-born workers fell by 1 million over the same period, government data show. The decline represents a stark turnaround from 2024, when the foreign-born workforce expanded by more than 2 million people.
The shift coincides with the Trump administration’s renewed focus on border security and immigration enforcement, suggesting that policy changes are reshaping the composition of the American workforce in ways that could have lasting economic implications. This represents a dramatic reversal from 2024, when foreign-born workers were essentially the entire source of labor force growth.
The data, drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment surveys, captures all foreign-born workers regardless of legal status. The surveys do not distinguish between those in the country legally and illegal aliens.
A Policy-Driven Turnaround
The timing of the workforce shift aligns closely with Trump’s inauguration and the implementation of stricter immigration policies. Since taking office, the administration has increased deportations, expanded workplace enforcement, and tightened rules for asylum seekers and temporary workers
The labor force changes represent one of the most concrete early indicators of how Trump’s immigration policies are affecting the broader economy. The administration has argued that reducing immigration will create opportunities for American workers.
In August, the U.S. economy added just 22,000 jobs, well below expectations, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.3 percent. The weak job growth occurred despite unemployment among foreign-born workers actually falling to 4.4 percent, below the 4.6 percent rate for native-born workers.
Meanwhile, average hourly earnings have risen from $35.87 in January to $36.53 in August, a gain of 1.8 percent over seven months that annualizes to roughly 3.1 percent wage growth. For production and non-supervisory workers, who make up about 80 percent of the workforce, earnings rose from $30.84 to $31.46, a 2.0 percent increase that annualizes to 3.4 percent.
With consumer prices rising an estimated 1.2 percent over the same period, workers have seen meaningful gains in purchasing power, with production workers experiencing real wage growth of nearly 0.8 percentage points. The pace suggests the tighter labor supply and falling competition from foreign workers may be putting upward pressure on wages.
The decline in foreign-born workers may be contributing to slower overall job growth, as businesses increase output through improvement in efficiency rather than hiring inexpensive foreign workers. In the second quarter of this year, the productivity of the U.S. labor force jumped 3.3 percent, according to data released this week.
Reversing Biden Open-Borders Immigration Flood
The scale of the reversal is particularly striking when viewed against recent trends. Throughout 2024, foreign-born workers accounted for most of the growth in the U.S. labor force. The foreign-born population grew by 2.9 million people that year, with 2.1 million joining the workforce and 2 million finding employment.
The January 2025 employment report included significant upward revisions to population estimates, partly reflecting the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ efforts to capture immigration trends more accurately. The agency noted that adjustments for “net international migration” were larger than usual, indicating that immigration flows had been particularly volatile.
Now, just eight months later, nearly all of that foreignization of the U.S. workforce gains has been reversed.
Economic Implications: Stronger Wage Gains for U.S. Workers
The workforce shift comes as the Federal Reserve weighs how aggressively to cut interest rates in response to slowing job growth. Fed officials have cited labor market weakness as a key factor in their deliberations, with some economists arguing that immigration-driven workforce changes complicate traditional measures of employment health. Fewer foreign workers means that the so-called break-even level of jobs creation—the number of new jobs necessary to keep up with population changes—has likely fallen significantly. A recent estimate by an economist at the St. Louis Fed has the break-even around 30,000 to 80,000, down from 150,000 before Trump’s immigration policy changes took hold.
The full impact on wages, job availability, and economic growth may not be apparent until later in 2025.
The Trump administration has signaled that immigration enforcement will continue to be a priority, with plans for expanded workplace raids and stricter verification requirements for employers. Officials argue that reducing competition from foreign workers will ultimately benefit American job seekers.
The August employment report, which showed the weakest job growth in months, may offer an early glimpse of how the changing workforce composition is affecting the broader economy. The monthly gain in wages for production and nonsupervisory workers came in at a strong 0.4 percent, an annualized rate of 4.7 percent, suggesting that American workers are benefiting from less competition with foreign-born workers.
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