Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer discusses the June jobs report and factories reportedly struggling to fill 400,000 open jobs in the U.S.
The latest workforce data suggests that American workers have been the main beneficiaries in the labor market amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The Labor Department’s jobs report for the month of June showed that the number of foreign-born workers declined by 348,000 from May — while the number of foreign-born workers has declined by more than 543,000 jobs since January.
By contrast, the number of U.S.-born workers increased by 830,000 from May to June, and is also over 2 million higher than when the second Trump administration began in January.
More than 75 employers were taking resumes and talking to prospective new hires at a career fair in Lake Forest, CA on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images / Getty Images)
That comes as a more significant shift in the composition of the workforce when compared with last year during the Biden administration, when foreign-born workers gained 1.025 million jobs and native-born workers picked up 1.099 million jobs over the same time period.
JOB GROWTH PICKED UP IN JUNE DESPITE ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY
The Trump White House touted the numbers in a statement to the press following the release of the June jobs report.
“For the FOURTH month in a row, jobs numbers have beat market expectations with nearly 150,000 good jobs created in June,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“American-born workers have accounted for ALL of the job gains since President Trump took office and wages continue to rise,” Leavitt said, adding that the “economy is booming again” and will accelerate further following passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“American-born workers have accounted for ALL of the job gains since President Trump took office and wages continue to rise,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
SOCIAL SECURITY INSOLVENCY COULD SPEED UP WITH ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
The Trump administration has rapidly increased deportations of unauthorized immigrants, while fear of immigration raids at workplaces has led to increased absenteeism among foreign-born workers.
A report by Bloomberg News last month said that unauthorized immigrants comprise an estimated 5% of the labor force and are disproportionately likely to work in industries facing persistent labor shortages, such as construction and food processing. It noted that some farms and other firms are struggling to find workers as absenteeism has risen in response to the raids.
Construction workers in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the Labor Department’s monthly jobs reports, doesn’t evaluate the immigration status of workers, and therefore the reports likely include unauthorized immigrants in the data.
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Though the household survey used by the BLS differentiates between foreign- and native-born workers, it doesn’t ask about legal status — meaning that the decline in foreign-born workers could also be affecting those who were born overseas and have legal authorization to work in the U.S.
