Beyond the “Black Jobs” Controversy: Immigrants and U.S.-Born Black Workers Share a Growing Jobs Pie

Valerie Lacarte, Ph.D., Aug. 2024

"The charge that immigrants are taking jobs from U.S.-born Black workers has made its way from conspiracy circles to the broader public conversation this election season. Several economists have refuted this: they say that despite persistent discrimination and systemic issues, Black Americans are facing one of the best job markets in recent times as a result of historically low unemployment rates. Yet this rhetoric of lost “Black jobs” has found sympathetic ears in the Black community and beyond. Could there be any truth to it? Have immigrants displaced U.S.-born Black workers? The reality is that the number of U.S. jobs has continually grown, so that even as foreign-born workers have claimed a growing share of the U.S. labor market and expanded their presence across industries, it does not appear that this has occurred at the expense of U.S.-born Black workers. At the same time, immigrants’ movement across industries and geographic regions may explain why the foreign-born workforce has become more visible, creating perceptions of a displacement effect in the U.S.-born Black community that does not actually exist."