This article develops a model of the occupational mobility of immigrants and tests the hypotheses using data on males from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia, Panel I. The theoretical model generates hypotheses regarding a U‐shaped pattern of occupational mobility from the “last job” in the origin, to the “first job” in the destination, to subsequent jobs in the destination, and regarding the depth of the “U.” The survey includes data on pre‐immigration occupation, the “first” occupation in Australia (at six months) and the occupation after about three‐and‐a‐half years in Australia. The hypotheses are supported by the empirical analysis.

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This paper uses data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia to examine the empirical relevance of a model of immigrant occupational mobility. Consistent with the model, there is a U-shaped pattern of occupational change from the pre-immigration occupation through to the occupation held after threeand-a-half years in Australia. The U is shallower for immigrants from countries similar to Australia than it is for immigrants from countries that differ more in language, occupational requirements, and labour market structure. The U-shaped pattern is deeper for immigrants who are refugees than for family migrants and is the least deep for economic migrants.

The present paper uses data from the 1996 Australian Aspects of Literacy survey to examine the effects on labour market outcomes of literacy, numeracy and schooling. The survey includes a range of literacy and numeracy variables that are highly intercorrelated. A 'general to specific' approach identifies the most relevant literacy and numeracy variables. Including the others adds little explanatory power. Among males and females separately, approximately half of the total effect of schooling on labour force participation and on unemployment can be attributed to literacy and numeracy (the indirect effect) and approximately half to the direct effect of schooling. There is apparently no indirect effect of labour market experience through literacy and numeracy on participation or unemployment. The direct and total effects of experience are the same. Similarly, the direct and total effects of literacy and numeracy are reasonably similar to each other.