Employment Characteristics of the Foreign-Born Population in Oregon

Today we fielded this question: "In what industries are Oregon workers who were born outside of the U.S. working?" The U.S. Census Bureau collects information about the foreign-born population in the American Community Survey. 


The 2008-2012 Census estimates show that about 10 percent of the state's population  consists of  people born outside the U.S. (or a total of 376,000). Of that 376,000, roughly 351,000 are ages 16 and older, and about 221,000 are employed. Foreign-born workers make up 13 percent of the state's civilian employed population.

Larger shares of the employed foreign-born population in Oregon can be found working in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry (10%), as well as manufacturing (18%). By comparison, 3 percent of the native-born population works in agriculture and related industries, and 11 percent are employed in manufacturing. Those born outside the U.S. are slightly less likely to be found in educational services or health care (16%) than Oregon workers born in the States (22%).

Almost half (47%) of Oregon's foreign-born population is native to Latin America, while more than one-fourth (28%) comes from Asia, another 15 percent are native to Europe, and 9 percent were born elsewhere outside the U.S.

More information can be found through the U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder.