Washington, DC. (June 17, 2020) - An analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies of the May employment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that while there was some improvement, the number and share of native-born Americans and immigrants (legal and illegal) unemployed remains extraordinarily high. Though still dismal for both groups, the situation improved more for the native-born than for immigrants between April and May. As a result, the gap between immigrants and natives widened somewhat.

While workers of every education level, and in practically every occupation, have experienced significant job losses during the Covid-19 shutdown, the situation for workers without a college education is especially bleak. Things are also particularly bad for newly arrived immigrants who are one of the few populations whose unemployment rate actually worsened between April and May.

"It makes no sense to continue to bring in more foreign workers when nearly 21 million are out of work and millions more are out of the labor market entirely. The latest data shows that immigrants, in particular, are struggling to find jobs, especially new arrivals," said Steven A. Camarota the report's lead author and the Center's Director of Research.

• The unemployment rate for native-born Americans was 12.4 percent in May; while lower than the 14 percent in April, it is still three times what it was before Covid-19 hit. Among immigrants, the rate was 15.8 percent in May, compared to 16.4 percent in April. The immigrant rate is still four times what it was before Covid-19.
• The number of natives unemployed declined by about 10 percent between April and May, compared to only a 3 percent decline for immigrants. Still, the number of natives and immigrants unemployed stood at 20.5 million, three times what it was in February.
• Because things improved somewhat more for the native-born than immigrants between April and May, the gap between the two groups widen. Prior to Covid-19 their unemployment rates were nearly identical.
• In addition to the unemployed, there were 48 million working-age (16-64) native-born and 9.9 million working-age immigrants entirely out of the labor force — neither working nor looking for work.
• New immigrants (legal and illegal) are one of the few groups whose unemployment rate went up April to May. Unemployment among immigrants who have lived in the United States for less than three years was 19.9 percent in May, up from 18.1 percent in April.
• We estimate all of the employment gains among immigrants between April to May went to illegal immigrants. The unemployment rate for legal immigrants in May was 15.6 percent, unchanged from April. In contrast, the rate for illegal immigrants was 16.4 percent, a 2.9 percentage-point improvement over April. It must be noted that our estimates by legal status are approximations only.
• Further evidence that it was illegal immigrants who made employment gains between April and May, not legal immigrants, is that the unemployment rate of only less-educated immigrants improved. Illegal immigrants are concentrated among those without a college education.

Among the less-educated:

• The unemployment rate for the native-born (ages 25-plus) without a bachelor's degree was 13.5 percent in May, compared to 6.5 percent for those with at least a bachelor's. Among immigrants (ages 25-plus), 18.3 percent without a bachelor's degree were unemployed, compared to 10.3 percent with a bachelor's.
• The unemployment rate (immigrant and native) in many jobs typically performed by the less-educated remains high.
  • 36.4 percent for food preparers and servers
  • 18.9 percent for janitors
  • 9.4 percent for landscapers, trimmers, and groundskeepers
  • 17.8 percent for construction laborers
  • 8.3 percent for health care aides and nursing assistants
  • 11.3 percent for butchers and food processing workers
• The Covid-19 shutdown has exacerbated the long-term decline in the labor force participation rate (share working or looking for work) of the less-educated. In May 2020, only 65 percent of working-age (16-64) natives without a bachelor's degree were in the labor force, down from 71 percent in May 2007 and 74 percent in May 2000.