Job search methods and wages : are natives and immigrants different?

• In many European labour markets, workers born outside Europe are less successful than natives. A potential explanation for these differences is ethnic differences in job search behaviour and access to high-quality informal networks, but a lack of appropriate data makes it difficult to investigate the importance of this explanation. In this study, we use data from a survey conducted in the Swedish labour market to analyze if there are ethnic differences in the choice of search intensity/methods and in the search method that resulted in a job (the successful search method). Moreover, we investigate if the wage and other characteristics of the new job differ depending on the successful search method. Our data includes detailed information about the workers’ job search and the characteristics of the new job. We find that immigrants use all search methods more intensely than natives, but that they in particular rely more on informal search methods. Moreover, we find that, for immigrants, the successful search method is more likely to be informal search through relatives and friends. However, we also find that jobs found through this search channel are associated with lower wages. One interpretation of these results is that that immigrants perceive their chance of finding a job as so low that they are willing to accept low-paying jobs obtained through their family and friends.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Nationalekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Economics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Job search methods

Wage differentials

Immigrants

Labour market

Economics

Nationalekonomi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)