Abstract
Abstract Immigrants’ employment status has worsened during the Great Recession in Spain. How much of this worsening is due to the recession, and how much to a composition effect? Using Spanish Labor Force Survey data from 2000 through 2011, we compare the employment trajectories of different cohorts of immigrants and natives and find that those who arrived before the 2008 recession had little trouble finding work immediately. In contrast, those who arrived after 2008 struggled to find work as Spanish unemployment rates skyrocketed. In addition, although many immigrants who arrived in Spain between 2000 and 2007 were able to find work and eventually move out of the low-skilled positions, the nature of their jobs did not shield them from the recession. Hence, many became unemployed as the economy shed low- and middle-skilled jobs in sectors dominated by immigrants. Immigrants’ individual characteristics, such as gender, country of origin, or educational level, had a limited effect on their employment trajectories. These findings suggest that for many workers, finding middle-skilled work alone isn’t enough. Hence, integration policies could aim to help workers transition from the secondary to the primary labor market in order to find their way into more stable employment. JEL codes: J15, J24, J61, J62
Highlights
Within the first decade of the century, the Spanish economy went from an economic boom—partly driven by the real-estate market—to a double recession that led to 26 percent unemployment rate
Using Spanish Labor Force survey data (EPA) from 2000 to 2011 and following three distinct immigrant cohorts–those who arrived between 2000 and 2003; those who arrived between 2004 and 2007, and those who arrived between 2008 and 2011, this paper analyzes whether the worsening of immigrants’ employment conditions after the Great Recession is explained exclusively by the deterioration of the economy or Rodríguez-Planas and Nollenberger IZA Journal of Labor Policy (2016) 5:4 whether it can be attributed to a compositional differences across different cohorts of immigrants
Given their precarious situation in the labor market and overrepresentation in sectors that were hard hit during the economic crisis, the recession has had a clear, negative impact on immigrant patterns of employment in Spain
Summary
Within the first decade of the century, the Spanish economy went from an economic boom—partly driven by the real-estate market—to a double recession that led to 26 percent unemployment rate (the highest in Spanish modern history). 2.1 Raw data Focusing on the cohort of immigrants who arrived between 2000 and 2003 in Panel a, we observe that their average employment rate at arrival was 56 percent in 2000 and close to 70 percent between the years 2001 and 2003, higher than the native-born population.
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