The Impact of Immigration on Four Low-Wage Industries in the 1990s

Abstract

In a previous study, Howland and Nguyen showed that cities that attracted Asian immigrants experienced slower declines in computer employment than did cities without immigration. This article continues this exploration of the role that immigrants play in labor supply and regional growth by applying a similar framework to four additional low-wage manufacturing industries. Results show that job retention and creation in three low-skilled industries—fruit and vegetable processing, apparel manufacturing, and leather and leather products manufacturing—respond to the influx of Hispanic immigrants in metropolitan areas. Asian immigration had no impact on these three industries, and neither Hispanic nor Asian immigrants affected metropolitan employment growth in the meat-processing industry.