Foreign-Born Workers in Pittsburgh's Labor Force

Impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic include depressed levels of domestic and international travel to include smaller flows of workers coming into the United States. Contraction of economic activity was compounded by recent policies put in place between January and May 2020 that formally limited the entry of workers into country. On June 22, those restrictions were extended through the end of 2020. With some exceptions, the flow of workers entering the United States via common categories of visa is expected to remain at historically low levels. How many foreign-born workers are employed in the region and what sectors of the economy will be the most impacted by depressed levels of international immigration.

In recent years the Pittsburgh region has ranked comparatively low in the proportion of the region's population born outside of the United States. In 2018, only 4.0% of the population of the Pittsburgh MSA was estimated to be foreign-born, compared to 13.7% of the nation's population (American Community Survey 2018, 1-year, estimates). However, the characteristics of the foreign-born population in Pittsburgh differ significantly from other metropolitan areas. In particular, the foreign-born population in the Pittsburgh MSA has one of the highest levels of educational attainment in the nation. In 2018, 58.6% of the foreign-born population age 25 and over in the Pittsburgh MSA was estimated to have a bachelor's degree or higher, the highest percentage among the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the nation. For more on the educational attainment of the foreign born population in the Pittsburgh region see the early article in Pittsburgh Perspectives February 11, 2019.

Here the concentration of foreign-born workers in the Pittsburgh region's labor force is broken down by individual occupations and larger occupation groups. These estimates were calculated from the American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data for the 2014-2018 period. This data reflects sample responses collected over five years. Occupations are categorized according to the 2018 Census Occupation Codes. Individual occupations are categorized as one of 570 specific occupations. Also reported here is the concentration of foreign-born workers across 23 occupation groups identified also identified by 2018 Census Occupation Codes.

Foreign-born workers in Pittsburgh are disproportionately concentrated in certain industries and specific occupations. Across occupation groups, foreign-born workers make up the highest concentration of workers in Life, Physical and Social Sciences occupations (15.1%), followed by Computer and Mathematical occupations (11.5%), and then Architecture and Engineering Occupations.

* Among occupations with 500 or more workers in the Pittsburgh region. This list is the 15 occupations with the highest concentrations of foreign-born workers among 570 specific occupations identified in 2018 Census Occupation Codes.