The local industries most reliant on foreign-born workers

The Triangle's booming construction industry is more reliant on foreign-born workers than the country as a whole, according to an analysis of Census data.

Why it matters: President Trump earlier this summer acknowledged that his massive immigration crackdown is "taking very good, long-time workers away from" the farming and hotel industries, and promised changes.

• Yet there's still no major policy decision from the White House, which must balance economic realities with demands to ramp up deportations.

By the numbers: More than 27% of the Raleigh metro area's construction workforce comprises foreign-born noncitizen workers, according to Census data.

• Nationwide, that rate is 17.5%.

Zoom in: With a record amount of apartment construction and homes being built at a fast clip across the suburbs, construction employment has soared in the Raleigh area over the past decade, with nearly 55,000 people now working in the sector.

• That's up from 33,500 a decade ago.

Yes, but: A labor shortage in that industry has caused hourly wages to surge for construction workers in the Triangle, which has in turn made it more expensive to build new homes, apartments and roads.

• The immigration crackdown is making it harder to find workers for contractors and construction firms, WFAE and WRAL have reported in recent months.

Go deeper into how an immigration crackdown could affect North Carolina employers.