Immigration and occupational status in economic crisis

Abstract

The type of employment is an important aspect of the immigrant labour market experience.Using data from the CSWH in 2008 and 2012, the study shows the differences between self-employment and paid-employment among groups of immigrant and native workers. In 2008, men from North America, Asia and Oceania, and Europe selected the first option. The comparison of the results between 2008 and 2012 suggests robustness in the qualitative conclusions between native and immigrant workers only in general terms. In 2012, those immigrants who were more likely to be self-employed belong to North America, Asia and Oceania, and the EU-15, regardless of the gender. Therefore, there is also a gender effect on the type of job selected, as well as the influence of institutional factors and the difficult economic environment in this aspect. These results confirm the importance of the “structuralist” and the “cultural” factors in the occupational status selection process