The demographic and socio-economic characteristics of post-1965 immigrants to New York City: a comparative analysis by national origin.

Abstract

This article analyzes and compares the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of persons born abroad who immigrated to New York City after 1965 and still lived in the City in 1990. Using data from the 1990 Census, the authors classify persons into the 24 largest national origin groups and compare their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics (sex, age, educational attainment, labor force participation, unemployment, occupation, income, and poverty). The authors pose and answer three empirical questions. The first question is: What are some of the main differences by national origin in the composition of persons immigrating to New York City after 1965? The second question is: What are some of the main differences in the location of post-1965 immigrants in New York's socioeconomic structure? The third question is: What are some of the differences in the economic rewards received by persons who immigrated to New York City since 1965? The authors find that immigrants with less than a high school education have higher labor force participation rates than the US-born population in the same educational category and also have slightly higher earnings. Immigrants with a high school degree have labor force participation rates close to (or slightly higher than) the average for the US-born population but their incomes are slightly lower than the average income for the US-born population. Immigrants with a college degree have participation rates similar or slightly lower than those of the US-born population while their earnings are significantly lower than those of US-born college graduates.