Job Quality and the Assimilation Process of US Immigrants

Maria E. Enchautegui, University of Puerto Rico

Job quality and the assimilation process of US immigrants Maria E. Enchautegui University of Puerto Rico Department of Economics P.O Box 23345 San Juan PR 00931-3345 njgd@isla.net ABSTRACT This paper examines the quality of the jobs held by immigrants. I use data on immigrant households in Los Angeles and New York City which contain detailed information on immigration status and 12 indicators of job quality. The most important predictor of job quality is whether or not the immigrant is unauthorized. Movement toward better quality jobs with time in the US, occurs slowly. Failure to account for immigration status on most national surveys likely over-estimate the assimilation into good jobs. Policies to improve the job quality of immigrants can target the characteristics that make immigrants likely to hold low-quality jobs. Another policy route, however, is to target the conditions that create low-quality employment in a restructured economy.