THE number of foreign-born workers in the United States neared pre-pandemic levels last year, reaching 17.4%, according to government data released yesterday.

The foreign-born labour force increased by 671,000 to 27.9 million compared with 2020, said the Labour Department.

But it remains below the pre-pandemic level of 28.4 million.

The unemployment rate for that group fell to 5.6% in 2021 from 9.2% the prior year.

The size of the native-born labour force was essentially unchanged last year, though the jobless rate also fell sharply, dropping to 5.3% from 7.8%, said the report.

The shortage of workers has become an increasing problem in the US economy, fuelling inflation as firms struggle to fill open positions and bid up wages.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday repeated the concern, noting that “if you have a slower growing labour market, you are going to have a smaller economy”.

US unemployment was 3.6% last month, only a hair above the pre-pandemic level, but labour force participation has not fully recovered.

Hispanics continued to account for nearly half of the foreign-born labour force in 2021, and Asians accounted for one quarter. – AFP, May 19, 2022.