Unemployment ticked up to 7.6%, in May, according to the Payroll Survey.  The economy created 175,000 jobs about the same average monthly job growth for the past year, but the labor force grew faster than employment.  Nevertheless, the labor force participation rate for native-born Americans is lower this May than it was last May—signaling a lack of confidence in job prospects. 

Immigrants, meanwhile, outpaced the native-born in jobs, participation rates, and unemployment reduction over the past 12 months.  Remember that about 90,000 legal immigrants are admitted to the U.S. every month. 

And among the native-born, Hispanics grabbed most of the new jobs. 

The “other” employment survey, of households, shows a 319,000 job gain in May—the strongest showing since October 2012.  The Household Survey now reports place of birth.  For the third straight month, our analysis finds that native-born gained jobs at a faster pace than immigrants:

In May:

Total employment rose by 319,000, or by 0.22%

Native-born employment rose by 290,000, or by 0.24%

Foreign-born employment rose by 29,000, or by 0.12%

That May 2013 is an anomaly is made clear in our New VDARE.com American Worker Displacement Index (NVDAWDI).  It tracks native-born and foreign-born employment growth for every month since the start of the Obama Administration:

Native-born employment growth is the blue line, immigrant employment growth is in pink, and NVAWDI—the ratio of immigrant to native-born job growth—is yellow.  To chart American worker displacement, we set both the native-born and immigrant employment indexes in January 2009 at 100.0. 

Since January 2009:

Foreign-born employment increased by 1.651 million, or by 7.6%.  The immigrant employment index rose from 100.0 to 107.6

Native-born employment rose by 26,000 or by 0.02%.  The native-born employment index in May 2013 was 100.0, or virtually unchanged from the level of January 2009. 

NVDAWDI (the ratio of immigrant to native-born employment growth indexes) rose from 100.0 to 107.6 (100X(107.6/ 100.0)

To put it another way, after four years of President Obama’s economic “recovery,” native-born employment has finally clawed its way back up to the same level it was on his (first) inauguration day.  Immigrants are already way ahead. 

The long-term trend of native-born worker displacement is seen in the table comparing the employment situation of native-born and immigrant workers in May 2013 and 2012:

Employment Status by Nativity, May 2012-May 2013 (numbers in 1000s; not seasonally adjusted) May-12 May-13 Change % Change Foreign born, 16 years and older Civilian population 37,504 37,503 -1 0.0% Civilian labor force 24,878 24,958 80 0.3% Participation rate (%) 66.3% 66.5% 0.2% 0.3% Employed 23,038 23,384 346 1.5% Employment/population % 61.4% 62.4% 1.0% 1.6% Unemployed 1,840 1,574 -266 -14.5% Unemployment rate (%) 7.4% 6.3% -1.1% -14.9% Not in labor force 12,625 12,545 -80 -0.6% Native born, 16 years and older Civilian population 205,462 207,660 2,198 1.1% Civilian labor force 130,120 130,776 656 0.5% Participation rate (%) 63.3% 62.9% -0.4% -0.6% Employed 119,689 121,048 1,359 1.1% Employment/population % 58.3% 58.2% -0.1% -0.2% Unemployed 10,431 9,728 -703 -6.7% Unemployment rate (%) 8.0% 7.4% -0.6% -7.5% Not in labor force 75,342 77,084 1,742 2.3% Source: BLS, The Employment Situation - May 2013, June 7, 2013.  Table A-7.  PDF

Over the past 12 months:

Immigrants gained 346,000 jobs, a 1.5% increase; native-born workers gained 1,359,000 positions, an 1.1% increase.  ADVANTAGE IMMIGRANTS

346,000 jobs, a 1.5% increase; native-born workers 1,359,000 positions, an 1.1% increase.  The immigrant unemployment rate fell by 1.1 percentage points – or by 14.9%; native unemployment fell by 0.6 percentage points – a 7.5% decline .  ADVANTAGE IMMIGRANTS, IN ADDITION:

by 1.1 percentage points – or by 14.9%; native unemployment by 0.6 percentage points – a 7.5% decline For the second month in a row the labor force participation rate – a measure of worker confidence – increased for immigrants but declined for natives.  At 66.5%, the immigrant participation rate in May was 3.6% points above the native rate. 

In conclusion, one new point: While Hispanics accounted for 15.7% of total U.S. employment in May, the BLS report also shows they received an astounding 86% of the jobs created—273,000 of the 319,000 total. 

With immigrant job growth relatively small in May, we can safely conclude they were mainly native-born Hispanics—children or even grandchildren of immigrants.  America’s post-1965 immigration disaster is metastasizing, at the expense of the historic America population, both white and black. 

Edwin S. Rubenstein (email him) is President of ESR Research Economic Consultants in Indiana