Number: RL33015
Title: Mexican Workers in the United States: A Comparison with Workers from Social Security Totalization Countries
Authors: Alison Siskin and Gerald Mayer, Domestic Social Policy Division 
Abstract: This report concludes that the Mexican population in the United States has a different socio-economic profile than both U.S. citizens and persons (both naturalized U.S. citizens and noncitizens) from current totalization countries. Workers from totalization countries tend to have more education and higher earnings than workers born in the United States or in Mexico. Noncitizens from Mexico tend to be younger and have higher labor force participation rates than naturalized U.S. citizens from Mexico, and other U.S. citizens. In addition, Mexican noncitizens and naturalized U.S. citizens from Mexico in the U.S. labor force tend to have more dependents in their U.S. households. Because Mexican workers may have lower lifetime earnings, they may receive a higher replacement rate, relative to the payroll taxes they pay, than workers with higher lifetime earnings, such as U.S. citizens and noncitizens from the totalization countries.
Pages: 35
Date: September 6, 2005