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Immigrant Job Search in the UK: Evidence from Panel Data

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  • Frijters, Paul

    (London School of Economics)

  • Shields, Michael A.

    (Monash University)

  • Wheatley Price, Stephen

    (University of Leicester)

Abstract

Most immigrant groups experience higher rates of unemployment than the host countries native population, but it is as yet unclear whether differences in job search behaviour, or its success, can help explain this gap. In this paper, we investigate how the job search methods of unemployed immigrants compare with those of the native born, using panel data from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey. We explore the relative effectiveness of different job search methods, between the main native born and immigrant groups, in terms of their impact on the duration of unemployment. Our main finding is that immigrant job search in the UK is less successful than that of UK born whites. However their relative failure to exit unemployment cannot generally be explained by differences in the choice of main job search method or in observable characteristics. We find no support for a policy that would constrain immigrants to use verifiable job search methods.

Suggested Citation

  • Frijters, Paul & Shields, Michael A. & Wheatley Price, Stephen, 2003. "Immigrant Job Search in the UK: Evidence from Panel Data," IZA Discussion Papers 902, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp902
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    Cited by:

    1. Alan Barrett & Adele Bergin & David Duffy, 2006. "The Labour Market Characteristics and Labour Market Impacts of Immigrants in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 37(1), pages 1-26.
    2. Battu, Harminder & Seaman, Paul & Zenou, Yves, 2011. "Job contact networks and the ethnic minorities," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 48-56, January.
    3. Dustmann, Christian & Glitz, Albrecht & Vogel, Thorsten, 2010. "Employment, wages, and the economic cycle: Differences between immigrants and natives," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 1-17, January.
    4. Patacchini, Eleonora & Zenou, Yves, 2012. "Ethnic networks and employment outcomes," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 938-949.
    5. Werner Eichhorst & Corrado Giulietti & Martin Guzi & Michael J. Kendzia & Paola Monti & Tommaso Frattini & Peter Huber & Klaus Nowotny & Barbara Vandeweghe, 2011. "The Integration of Migrants and its Effects on the Labour Market," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 42955, April.
    6. Zenou, Yves, 2011. "Explaining the Black/White Employment Gap: The Role of Weak Ties," CEPR Discussion Papers 8582, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Santos, Miguel, 2010. "From Training to Labour Market. Holocletic Model," MPRA Paper 26617, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Nicoletti, Cheti & Platt, Lucinda & Longhi, Simonetta, 2009. "Decomposing pay gaps across the wage distribution: investigating inequalities of ethno-religious groups and disabled people," ISER Working Paper Series 2009-31, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    9. Blackaby, D.H. & Leslie, D.G. & Murphy, P.D. & O'Leary, N.C., 2005. "Born in Britain: How are native ethnic minorities faring in the British labour market?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 370-375, September.
    10. Alessandro Innocenti & Francesca Lorini & Chiara Rapallini, 2014. "Ethnic Heterogeneity, Voting Partecipation and Local Economic Growth. The Case of Belgium," Working Papers - Economics wp2014_03.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    11. Tito Boeri & Marta De Philippis & Eleonora Patacchini & Michele Pelizzari, 2010. "Moving to Segregation: Evidence from 8 Italian cities," EIEF Working Papers Series 1109, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF), revised Apr 2011.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    job search; immigrants; panel data; unemployment; duration analysis;
    All these keywords.

    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

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