Migration and the Employment and Wages of Native and Immigrant Workers

This article assesses the association between migration (both international and internal) and the employment status and earnings of young non-college-educated native White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and immigrant white-collar and blue-collar workers in the United States during the decade from 1980 to 1990. The authors present results that only partly support the claim that internal migrants and immigrants are substitutes for native workers. On one hand, the authors found that migration (flow) was not a major factor associated with the increased joblessness and decreased wages experienced by some native groups during the 1980s, particularly among blue-collar workers. On the other hand, the authors did find that changes in the foreign-born composition of an industrial sector (a measure of immigrant stock) were associated with increased joblessness of native workers and decreased joblessness of immigrant workers.