Hispanics in the U.S. Labor Market: A Tale of Three Generations

Pia Orrenius and Madeline Zavodny

No 1809, Working Papers from Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Abstract: Immigrants? descendants typically assimilate toward mainstream social and economic outcomes across generations. Hispanics in the United States are a possible exception to this pattern. Although there is a growing literature on intergenerational progress, or lack thereof, in education and earnings among Hispanics, there is little research on employment differences across immigrant generations. Using data from 1996 to 2017, this study reveals considerable differences in Hispanics? employment rates across immigrant generations. Hispanic immigrant men tend to have higher employment rates than non-Hispanic whites and second- and third-plus generation Hispanics. Hispanic immigrant women have much lower employment rates, but employment rates rise considerably in the second generation. Nonetheless, U.S.-born Hispanic women are less likely than non-Hispanic white women to work. The evidence thus suggests segmented assimilation, in which the descendants of Hispanic immigrants have worse outcomes across generations. While relatively low education levels do not appear to hamper Hispanic immigrants? employment, they play a key role in explaining low levels of employment among Hispanic immigrants? descendants. Race and selective ethnic attrition may also contribute to some of the patterns uncovered here.

Keywords: Hispanics; immigrant generations; assimilation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 J11 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 45 pages
Date: 2018-05-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab, nep-mac and nep-mig
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fip:feddwp:1809

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DOI: 10.24149/wp1809

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