The Upjohn Institute New Hires Quality Index held steady between March and April at $21.40, at the same level as a year ago but up 2.7 percent since the start of the pandemic. Hiring volume again fell, down 3.6 percent from one year ago, while hiring rates – which adjust for population growth – are at a third consecutive series low.
In this month’s news release, index creator Brad Hershbein looks at trends for newly hired workers born in the U.S. and those born in another country. After years of growth, the wage index for foreign-born workers has dropped sharply over the last 16 months while native-born workers’ wage index has grown more steadily to near an all-time high.
Hiring volume, however, has held up well for foreign-born workers since the start of 2023 while plummeting for native-born workers. Some of the difference is due to population change, however, as per capita hiring trends show declines in both groups in recent years.
Even with these declines, foreign-born workers have increased their share of the total earnings power among all new hires, up 2.5 percentage points from the start of the pandemic to 20.7 percent.
Read the full release or explore the index