The Rise of Market-Based Job Search Institutions and Job Niches for Low-Skilled Chinese Immigrants

Increasingly, market-based job search institutions, such as employment agencies and ethnic media, are playing a more important role than migrant networks for low-skilled Chinese immigrants searching for jobs. We argue that two major factors are driving this trend: the diversification of Chinese immi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zai Liang, Bo Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Russell Sage Foundation 2018-01-01
Series:RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.rsfjournal.org/doi/full/10.7758/RSF.2018.4.1.05
Description
Summary:Increasingly, market-based job search institutions, such as employment agencies and ethnic media, are playing a more important role than migrant networks for low-skilled Chinese immigrants searching for jobs. We argue that two major factors are driving this trend: the diversification of Chinese immigrants’ provinces of origin, and the spatial diffusion of businesses in the United States owned by Chinese immigrants. We also identify some new niche jobs for Chinese immigrants and assess the extent to which this development is driven by China’s growing prosperity. We use data from multiple sources, including a survey of employment agencies in Manhattan’s Chinatown, job advertisements in Chinese-language newspapers, and information on Chinese immigrant hometown associations in the United States.
ISSN:2377-8253
2377-8261