Adding to the labor market’s instability is the growing reliance on foreign-born workers. In January 2025, 1.04 million foreign-born workers entered the workforce, while only 8,000 native-born workers found jobs. This imbalance is part of a broader trend, where native-born employment has remained stagnant since 2019, despite total employment growth.
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The latest BLS revisions further underscore this shift, with over 589,000 previously reported jobs erased from March 2024 data, confirming that prior employment figures overstated labor market strength. With native-born workers struggling to find employment, the reliance on foreign labor—both documented and undocumented—raises structural concerns about wage growth, labor participation, and economic resilience. If these hiring trends continue, stagnant wages and weakening household incomes could exacerbate economic fragility.

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