How Does Geography Matter in the Ethnic Labor Market Segmentation Process? A Case Study of Chinese Immigrants in the San Francisco CMSA

Abstract

With the continuing influx of large numbers of immigrants to the United States, urban labor market segmentation along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender, and class has drawn considerable attention. Using a confidential data set extracted from the United States Decennial Long Form Data 2000 and a multilevel regression modeling strategy, this article presents a case study of Chinese immigrants in the San Francisco metropolitan area. Correspondent with the highly segregated nature of the labor market between Chinese immigrant men and women, different socioeconomic characteristics at the census tract level are significantly related to their occupational segregation. The results of this study suggest that the social process of labor market segmentation is contingent on the immigrant geography of residence and workplace. Whereas the direction and magnitude of the spatial contingency are different between men and women, residency in Chinese immigrant-concentrated areas is perpetuating gender occupational segregation by skill level. Abundant ethnic resources might exist in ethnic neighborhoods and enclaves for certain types of employment opportunities; however, these resources do not necessarily help Chinese immigrant workers, especially women, to move upward in the labor market hierarchy.