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The Employment, Unemployment and Unemployment Compensation Benefits of Immigrants

Author

Listed:
  • Hurst, Michael E.

    (University of Chicago)

  • Chiswick, Barry R.

    (George Washington University)

Abstract

This report analyzes the employment and unemployment experiences of adult foreign-born men, both among themselves and in comparison with the native born. The empirical analysis uses microdata from the 1990 Census of Population. Three dependent variables are analyzed, weeks worked (employment) in 1989, unemployment status in the reference week in 1990, and a proxy measure of unemployment compensation benefits received in 1989. The theoretical model focuses on the job search behavior of the foreign born within the context of an immigrant adjustment model based on the imperfect transferability of skills and labor market information acquired prior to immigration. In particular, the model focuses on the effects on employment and unemployment of schooling, labor market experience, marital status and the agricultural sector, in addition to English language fluency and country of origin. The hypotheses developed from the model are found to be consistent with the data. Employment is significantly lower, and unemployment is significantly higher, among the foreign born in the U.S. for three or fewer years, but then reaches a level after which there is little variation by duration of residence. Unemployment problems associated with immigrants appear to be short-term transitional adjustments.

Suggested Citation

  • Hurst, Michael E. & Chiswick, Barry R., 2000. "The Employment, Unemployment and Unemployment Compensation Benefits of Immigrants," IZA Discussion Papers 129, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp129
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Barry R. Chiswick & Yew Liang Lee & Paul W. Miller, 2003. "Schooling, Literacy, Numeracy and Labour Market Success," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 79(245), pages 165-181, June.
    2. Magnusson, Kristin, 2009. "The Impact of U.S. Regional Business Cycles on Remittances to Latin America," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 710, Stockholm School of Economics.
    3. Hunt, Priscillia, 2008. "Are immigrants so stuck to the floor that the ceiling is irrelevant?," Economic Research Papers 269787, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    4. repec:wsr:ecbook:2010:i:ii-010 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. 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.
    6. Bevelander, Pieter, 1999. "Declining Employment Assimilation of Immigrants in Sweden: Observed or Unobserved Characteristics?," CEPR Discussion Papers 2132, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Santiago Budría & Alberto Colino & Carlos Martínez de Ibarreta, 2019. "The impact of host language proficiency on employment outcomes among immigrants in Spain," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 46(4), pages 625-652, November.
    8. Stephen Wheatley Price, 2001. "The employment adjustment of male immigrants in England," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 14(1), pages 193-220.
    9. Astrid Krenz, 2008. "Theorie und Empirie über den Wirkungszusammenhang zwischen sozialer Herkunft, kulturellem und sozialem Kapital, Bildung und Einkommen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 128, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    10. Stephen Wheatley Price, 2001. "The unemployment experience of male immigrants in England," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 201-215.
    11. Smolny, Werner & Rieber, Alexander, 2016. "Labour market integration of immigrants - Evidence for the German guest workers," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145629, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    12. Hatton, Timothy J. & Wheatley Price, Stephen, 1998. "Migration, Migrants and Policy in the United Kingdom," CEPR Discussion Papers 1960, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Paul W. Miller & Leanne M. Neo, 2003. "Labour Market Flexibility and Immigrant Adjustment," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 79(246), pages 336-356, September.
    14. Michael Shields & Allan Wailoo, "undated". "Unhappiness and Involuntary Unemployment: The Case of Ethnic Minority Men in Britain," Discussion Papers in Public Sector Economics 99/1, Division of Economics, School of Business, University of Leicester.
    15. Budría, Santiago & Martínez-de-Ibarreta, Carlos, 2021. "Education and skill mismatches among immigrants: The impact of host language proficiency," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    16. Sergio Lo Iacono & Neli Demireva, 2018. "Returns to Foreign and Host Country Qualifications: Evidence from the US on the Labour Market Placement of Migrants and the Second Generation," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(3), pages 142-152.
    17. Hamori, Szilvia, 2009. "Employment convergence of immigrants in the EU: Differences across genders, regions of origin and destination," HWWI Research Papers 3-20, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    country of origin; language fluency; Adjustment process;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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