Overview

• The non-seasonally adjusted July jobs report shows native-born employment rose by 383,000 while foreign-born jobs fell by 467,000.
• All net job gains since January have been credited to native-born workers as foreign-born employment dropped by over half a million in that period.
• The Current Population Survey relies on self-reported nativity and is prone to nonsampling errors when respondents misstate their status.
• Analysts warn that stepped-up enforcement efforts may discourage foreign-born individuals from accurately reporting their status, producing apparent declines.
• Brookings Institution scholars and CIS researchers caution that record month-to-month population swings in CPS data may reflect statistical artifacts rather than true labor-market changes.