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The Contribution of Immigration to Local Labor Market Adjustment

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  • Michael Amior

Abstract

The United States faces persistent spatial disparities in joblessness, which should theoretically be eliminated by population reallocation. Can immigration accelerate this adjustment process? I estimate that new immigrants account for 40% of local population adjustment since 1960. This vastly exceeds their share of gross migratory flows (just 10%). I attribute their “excess” response to the pull of migrant enclaves, which are disproportionately located in high-employment areas (a consequence of persistent shocks). However, immigration does not significantly accelerate population adjustment overall, as it crowds out the contribution from internal mobility. This crowd-out can help explain the contemporary decline in gross internal flows.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Amior, 2025. "The Contribution of Immigration to Local Labor Market Adjustment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(4), pages 1169-1206.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/730163
    DOI: 10.1086/730163
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Amior, Michael, 2020. "Immigration, local crowd-out and undercoverage bias," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108490, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Fouka, Vasiliki & Mazumder, Soumyajit & Tabellini, Marco, 2021. "From Immigrants to Americans: Race and Assimilation during the Great Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 14371, IZA Network @ LISER.
    4. Henry Redondo, 2023. "From bricklayers to waiters: Reallocation in a deep recession," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2023 27, Stata Users Group.
    5. Michal Burzynski & Giovanni Peri, 2024. "Natives Sorting and the Impact of Immigration on European Labor Markets," LISER Working Paper Series 2024-09, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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