Population

What percent of jobs in Massachusetts are held by immigrants?

Data updated May 22, 2024
About 21.8% in 2022. Immigrants are foreign-born residents, including those who became US citizens, are authorized to work in the US, or are undocumented residents.
Showing data for
In 2022

3 in 14

employed workers were immigrants
In 2022

21.8%

of employed workers were immigrants
While immigrants hold 21.8% of jobs, they make up 20.6% of the working-age population in the state. This indicates a slightly higher employment rate than expected. The working-age population includes everyone aged 16 and above.

Immigrant percentage of employed workers in Massachusetts

Immigrant participation in the workforce varies across industries. In Massachusetts, the largest gap between foreign-born and native-born workers was in manufacturing, where 12.1% of the foreign-born working-age population were employed compared to 8.3% of native-born workers.

Percentage of employed population in Massachusetts, by sector of employment (2022)

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The labor force participation rate — the percentage of the working-age population working or actively seeking work — for immigrants in Massachusetts was 70.1%, higher than the 65.8% rate for the native-born population. This indicates that immigrants were seeking work at a slightly higher rate than the native-born population in the state.

Comparing immigrant percentage of employed workers of Massachusetts metro areas to others

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.

  • United States Census Bureau

    American Community Survey (ACS)

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