Characteristics of the Foreign-Born Population Working in Oregon

Roughly 10 percent (or 389,000) of Oregon’s population consists of people born outside the U.S. Of the foreign-born population in Oregon, roughly 367,000 are age 16 or older, and about 233,000 are employed. Foreign-born workers make up 13 percent of the state's civilian employed population. Almost half (46%) of Oregon's foreign-born population is native to Latin America, while 30 percent comes from Asia, another 15 percent is native to Europe, and 9 percent were born elsewhere outside the U.S.

Foreign-born workers tend to be more concentrated in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry, as well as manufacturing. About one out of 10 foreign-born workers can be found in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, or mining, and about one-fifth (18%) work in manufacturing. By comparison, 3 percent of the employed native-born population work in agriculture and related industries, and 10 percent work in manufacturing. Those born outside the U.S. are slightly less likely to be found in educational services or health care (17%) than Oregon workers born in the U.S. (24%).

To learn how much foreign-born workers earn relative to native-born workers, read Senior Economic Analyst Gail Krumenauer's full article.