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Immigrants’ employment outcomes over the business cycle

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Abstract

Immigrants have figured prominently in U.S. economic growth for decades, but the recent recession hit them hard. Immigrants? labor market outcomes began deteriorating even before the recession was officially under way, largely as a result of the housing bust. An analysis of employment and unemployment rates over the past fifteen years shows that immigrants? labor market outcomes are more cyclical than those of natives. The greater cyclicality of immigrants? employment and unemployment is concentrated among less-educated immigrants, but college-educated immigrants nonetheless have more-cyclically sensitive employment outcomes than college-educated natives.

Suggested Citation

  • Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny, 2011. "Immigrants’ employment outcomes over the business cycle," Staff Papers, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, issue Sep.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:feddst:y:2011:i:sep:n:15
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    1. Dustmann, Christian & Glitz, Albrecht & Vogel, Thorsten, 2010. "Employment, wages, and the economic cycle: Differences between immigrants and natives," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 1-17, January.
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    7. Paul J. Devereux, 2004. "Cyclical Quality Adjustment in the Labor Market," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(3), pages 600-615, January.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Yu, Chan, 2023. "The role of immigrants in the United States labor market and Chinese import competition," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    3. García-Suaza, A & Gallego, J. M. & Mayorga, J. D. & Mondragón-Mayo, A. & Sepúlveda, C. & Sarango, A., 2022. "COVID-19 and assimilation: an analysis of immigration from Venezuelan in Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo 20417, Universidad del Rosario.
    4. Anna D’Ambrosio & Roberto Leombruni & Tiziano Razzolini, 2022. "Trading off wage for workplace safety? Gaps between immigrants and natives in Italy," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(3), pages 903-960, October.
    5. Alan Barrett & Elish Kelly, 2012. "The Impact of Ireland’s Recession on the Labour Market Outcomes of its Immigrants [L’impact de la récession en Irlande sur le devenir de ses immigrés sur le marché du travail]," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 28(1), pages 91-111, February.
    6. Sparber, Chad & Fan, Jasmine Sijie, 2011. "Unemployment, Skills, and the Business Cycle Since 2000," Working Papers 2011-04, Department of Economics, Colgate University, revised 12 Sep 2012.
    7. Kris Inwood & Chris Minns & Fraser Summerfield, 2016. "Reverse assimilation? Immigrants in the Canadian labour market during the Great Depression," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 20(3), pages 299-321.
    8. Mercè Sala-Rios & Teresa Torres-Solé & Mariona Farré-Perdiguer, 2018. "Immigrants’ employment and the business cycle in Spain: taking account of gender and origin," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 35(2), pages 463-490, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Business cycle; recession; employment; immigrants;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

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