Labor market experiences of the foreign born: An assessment of national origin differences in employment status from 1980 to 2000

Much of the existing research on the economic assimilation of post-1965 immigrants relative to the native born has revolved around earnings. The earnings differential is a helpful measure of inequality as it indicates the amount of resources an individual or group has for socio-economic well-being, but it still limits our complete understanding of immigrants' economic incorporation and more specifically, their labor market experiences. Added to this, assimilation is not a uniform process. I evaluate one of the key assertions of segmented assimilation theory by examining national origin patterns of labor market integration, for post-1965 Latin American and Caribbean immigrants' changes in employment status over the period 1980 to 2000. Segmented assimilation theory posits that assimilation can be downward, especially in disadvantaged contexts, conventional as in upward mobility, or partial. Using repeated cross-sections of the 5% IPUMS USA decennial Census samples of 1980, 1990 and 2000, the study assesses changes in the likelihood of being unemployed or out of the labor force as opposed to employed over the course of 1980 to 2000, for pooled cross-sections of working age immigrants relative to US non-Hispanic Whites and native minorities. Emphasis is placed on measuring the effect of national origin and duration of residence on employment status while controlling for the Census year, demographic and human capital factors. Results show that all foreign born have lower risks of nonparticipation than the native majority and native minorities over their course of US residence. Higher labor force participation, however, does not translate into higher likelihoods of full labor market integration. Differentials in labor market integration actually follow a downward assimilation pattern for foreign born Mexicans and Guatemalans/Hondurans/Nicaraguans as their risks of unemployment increase with longer US residence and are similar to native minorities of Hispanic origin. Foreign born Jamaicans' risks of unemployment also mirror those of native Hispanics, thus suggesting a propensity for downward assimilation as well. Foreign born Cubans appear most likely to assimilate conventionally as their risks of unemployment approach parity with the native majority over their duration in the US. Hence, upward and downward assimilation trajectories in labor force attachment depend on nationality.