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Immigrant underemployment across US metropolitan areas: From a spatial perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Qingfang Wang

    (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA)

  • Tetiana Lysenko

    (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA)

Abstract

A significant number of immigrants fail to realise their full potential in the US labour markets, as evidenced by those working in occupations requiring skill levels far below their own level of education. While previous studies have studied immigrant underemployment with a focus on individual labour force characteristics, the spatial dimensions of immigrant underemployment have been largely overlooked. Using microdata from the 2006–2010 American Community Survey and a multilevel research design, this study examines the interaction of metropolitan labour market characteristics with individual labour force’s underemployment experiences, and explores how these interaction effects differ between the foreign-born and the native-born. Results suggest that the probability of individual labour force’s underemployment within any metropolitan area is highly contingent on metropolitan labour market characteristics including ethnic diversity, the proportion of its foreign-born population, the economic structure, and the level of educational attainment of the labour force, in addition to individual characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Qingfang Wang & Tetiana Lysenko, 2014. "Immigrant underemployment across US metropolitan areas: From a spatial perspective," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(10), pages 2202-2218, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:51:y:2014:i:10:p:2202-2218
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098013506043
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Justin Doran & Bernard Fingleton, 2016. "Employment Resilience in Europe and the 2008 Economic Crisis: Insights from Micro-Level Data," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 644-656, April.

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