PHOENIX — Up to 10.5 percent of the state workforce’s in 2006 — more than 300,000 people — came here illegally, according to a new study.

 And that’s double the national average.

 The report by the Pew Hispanic Center also found that 18 percent of the more than 2.9 million people in the labor force were no born in the United States. The balance are presumed to be legal residents.

 Pew Hispanic released the special report after Arizona became the first state in the nation to enact laws penalizing businesses for knowingly or intentionally hiring undocumented workers. The study, conducted using information from both the U.S. Census Bureau and Pew’s own analysts, was designed to not only provide the most up-to-date figures but also compare Arizona with the rest of the nation.

 According to the report, 29.1 percent of all Arizonans in 2006 were Hispanic, double the national figure.

 Of that, more than a half of those were not born in this country.

 And most of those are not citizens.

 It also found that the number of Hispanics in the state grew three times as fast as non-Hispanics since the beginning of the decade.

 Much of the data on the workforce, the report states, reflects the state’s population as a whole.

 ``Foreign-born workers, especially of Mexican origin, play a larger role in Arizona than in the nation,’’ the study reads.

 ``These workers tend to have lower levels of education and are concentrated in blue-collar industries and occupations.’’

 Specifically, the report says that foreign-born workers make up almost two thirds of total employment in farming and forestry, half of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance, and more than 40 percent of those in construction trades.

 And a quarter of those in food preparation and serving were not born in this country.

 The statistics also show that while the state’s population is almost evenly divided between men and women, 55 percent of foreign-born Hispanics are male. And the share of males is even higher among recent immigrants, totaling in excess of 60 percent. Latinos in general, whether native born or not, also are less educated than the population in general. Pew Hispanic figures that fewer than 47 percent of Arizonans of working age have a high school education or less; for Latinos, the figure exceeds 70 percent.

 Similarly, less than 8 percent of working-age Hispanics have a college degree compared with more than 22 percent statewide. And the report says that more than half all Arizonans without a high school diploma are Hispanic.

 

Just The Facts:



Foreign born Hispanics as percent of total employment, by  occupation:

 Total — 13.9%

 Farming, fishing, forestry — 64.2%

 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance — 49.7%

 Construction trades — 43.3%

 Production — 26.4%

 Food preparation and serving — 25.7%

 Labor force in 2006:

 Category / AZ / U.S.

 Total in 000 / 2,942 / 151,211

 % Hispanic / 27.2% / 13.8%

 % Foreign-born Hispanic / 13.9% / 7.6%

 % All foreign born / 18.8% / 15.6%

 % Non citizens / 13.3% / 9.0%

 % Unauthorized / 9.4-10.5% / 4.9%

 — Source: Pew Hispanic Center



Change in population,    2000-2006:

 Group / AZ / U.S.

 Total / 20.1% / 6.4%

 Non-Hispanic / 13.7% / 3.6%

 Hispanic / 39.0% / 25.8%

 Foreign-born Hispanic / 44.1% / 25.2%

 All foreign born / 39.9% / 20.4%

 — Source: Pew Hispanic Center