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The emergence of Hispanic immigrant occupational niches: Employer preferences and the search for the subservient worker

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Abstract

This article examines how Hispanic immigrants are economically incorporated into Newburgh, New York, a new immigrant destination historically characterized by a weak economy, high levels of poverty and unemployment. More specifically, I examine (1) the transformation of the labor market in light of increased migration; (2) the impact Hispanic immigrant workers may have on the labor market opportunities of the native population, specifically blacks; and (3) the role of targeted employer preferences on the shifting occupational composition of the area. It might be too early to speak of complete displacement, but data point to the formation of Hispanic immigrant occupational niches in occupations that do not require high levels of educational attainment to the detriment of their black counterparts. These patterns however, need to be interpreted through the lens of social networks, labor force nonparticipation and discriminatory and exploitative employer preferences.

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Notes

  1. 2010 Summary File 1 data and 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates indicate that non-Hispanic whites made up only 20.4% of the total population. Furthermore, only 12.3% of the population twenty-five years old and over had a bachelor’s degree or higher.

  2. The occupations presented are those that have been identified by the literature as either ethnic niches for the immigrant population or that have been expanding because of the increasing settlement of immigrants and their need for services (Adelman et al. 2005; Rosenfeld and Tienda 1999).

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  1. Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA

    Jacqueline Villarrubia-Mendoza

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  1. Jacqueline Villarrubia-Mendoza
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Correspondence to Jacqueline Villarrubia-Mendoza.

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Villarrubia-Mendoza, J. The emergence of Hispanic immigrant occupational niches: Employer preferences and the search for the subservient worker. Lat Stud 15, 341–364 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41276-017-0073-z

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