Immigrant Participation in Low-Wage Labor Markets

43 Pages Posted: 10 Jun 1999

See all articles by Stephen J. Trejo

Stephen J. Trejo

University of Texas at Austin - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: December 1998

Abstract

This paper analyzes immigrant participation in low-wage labor markets in the United States. Compared to natives, immigrants are overrepresented in low-wage jobs throughout their U.S. careers, and this overrepresentation is most severe for recent arrival cohorts. Immigration's impact on less skilled natives, however, may be cushioned by the fact that low-wage immigrants possess different kinds of human capital and work in different types of jobs than low-wage natives. Finally, available data give no indication that immigrants are especially vulnerable to being paid less than the federal minimum wage.

JEL Classification: J61, J31, J42

Suggested Citation

Trejo, Stephen J., Immigrant Participation in Low-Wage Labor Markets (December 1998). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=145589 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.145589

Stephen J. Trejo (Contact Author)

University of Texas at Austin - Department of Economics ( email )

Austin, TX 78712
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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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