Mexicans are paid about 20%-25% less than native born workers with the same educational attainment. I am confident this is due to language barriers, discrimination and relative sophistication in the job market. And, Mexicans are much more likely to be poorly educated compared to any other foreign born worker from other than Latin America.
A great majority of very poorly educated workers in the United States come from outside the country.In our native-born labor force, only one percent have an 8th grade or lesser education. That’s about 1.3 million workers. Among Mexicans and Central Americans, that share is 34%, or about 3.3 million. For the rest of the foreign-born labor force, it’s 4%, or about 600,000 persons.
The Congressional Budget Office reports (with figures up to 2009, when the tide of Mexican immigrants had begun to recede).
in 2009 Mexicans in the U.S. were 7.7 million, representing 5% of the domestic labor force and 32% of the foreign-born labor force. It was the least educated, with an average 9.7 years of schooling, compared to 13.9 years for the native born labor force and 12.9 years for the entire foreign-born labor force. (Asian, Canadian and European rates exceeded 14 years.) Mexico and Central America accounted in 2009 for 19% of the Californian labor force. In the Mexican and Central American labor force, 34% had 8th grade or less education, and they accounted for 64% of the total labor force with 8th grade or less education.
The native born labor force accounted for 23% of workers with 8th grade or less, and 69% of those with some high school, but 86% of those with the a bachelors degree.
28% of Mexicans and Central Americans 25 years or older and in the workforce were U.S. citizens. That’s compared to 56% of all other foreign born workers 25 years or older.
3.7% of Mexicans and Central Americans were in management, compared to 11% for all other foreigners and 12.9% of native born workers.
Wages: among men those with 8th grade or less education, Mexicans and Central Americans earn $500 a week compared to $610 for workers with native born parents (and 530 native born with parents from Mexico and Central America). Among women, the comparative figure are $370, $480, and $380. Wage differentials are worse among men, and the differential is worse when you look at persons with a high school or GED degree.