The number of immigrants working in U.S. construction reached a record high of 2.9 million, the National Association of Home Builders reported in December. 

The number of U.S.-born workers in the construction industry has dropped by more than 500,000 since the height of the mid-2000s housing boom. In 2002, the construction industry attracted more than 90,000 new immigrant workers, the most since 2006.

The data from American Community Survey shows there were 11.8 million workers in American construction in 2022, including those self-employed and temporarily unemployed. About 8.9 million were native-born workers. Foreign-born workers made up 24.7% of the total construction workforce and 31% of those working in construction trades.

The number of foreign-born workers moving into construction jobs often rises and falls based on labor demand. When housing starts increase, so does the number of immigrants in the construction workforce. And when housing starts drop, the immigrant workforce in the industry drops, too.

The pandemic derailed those trends when restrictions on border crossings and travel cut into the immigrant workforce. The numbers returned to typical levels in 2021, the data showed.

At more than 24%, the percentage of foreign-born workers in construction is higher than the rest of the U.S. economy. The percentage of immigrants in the total American labor force has hovered at about 16% since 2018 and was 16.6% in 2022.