Immigrants in the Labor Market: Examining Change in Labor Market Structure and Immigrant Occupational Outcomes from 1970-2017

• In Event: 3251 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 13. Labor Market Incorporation

Abstract

This paper discusses the post-1965 shifts in the American labor force, with respect to both occupational distribution and immigrant distributions within occupations, and the resultant patterns of within-occupation changes in income, for both native and foreign-born workers. Using the United States Decennial Census and American Community Survey (ACS) data, from 1970 – 2017, this paper demonstrates that while changes in the occupational distribution of the American labor force are not drastic, increases in the immigrant proportion of the American labor force are less evenly distributed. This paper finds that within-occupation changes in income are differentially associated with these labor market and demographic shifts, and concludes by generating possible explanatory hypothesis and directions for further study.

Author

• Ilana Ventura, University of Chicago