Ethnicity as skill: immigrant employment hierarchies in Norwegian low-wage labour markets

Abstract

Immigrants are often concentrated in particular, often low-waged, segments of the labour market and employers tend to assume that immigrants posit (soft) skills which make them particularly suited for specific tasks. Less scholarly attention has been given to the real and perceived content of these skills and how employers may shift their view over time. We contribute to the literature by examining changing ethnic employment hierarchies in two immigrant-intensive labour markets in Norway. Drawing on qualitative data from the hotel and fish processing industries, we describe, first, how different ethnic groups are allocated into specific jobs forming a clear hierarchy in the eyes of employers, and, second, how employers' preferences for particular groups change as new immigrants enter the labour market. Theoretically, we develop the concept of 'ethnicity as skill', which points to the tendency among employers to equate ethnic group membership with a set of informal qualifications.

Does Country Context Matter? Sub‐Saharan and North African Immigrants’ Labour Market Outcomes in France and Spain

“…Bertrand and Mullainathan, ; Hou and Coulombe, ), there is clear evidence that increased ethnic diversity in Europe was accompanied by stratification from the native‐born (Heath et al., ). Discrimination against visible minorities is prevalent across Europe regardless of the host‐country's migration history and political/economic policy (Heath and Cheung, ; Nordin and Rooth, ; Friberg and Midtbøen, ). In France, ethnic minorities experience persistent discrimination in the labour market (Ware, ) and those identified as black experience hiring discrimination (Riach and Rich, ) and are underrepresented in jobs involving customer contact (Combes et al., ).…”

Men doing women's dirty work: Desegregation, immigrants and employer preferences in the cleaning industry in Norway

“…The employers described having the right soft skills as essential for considerations of suitability, while technical skills can be learned through internal training schemes. Previous research has similarly demonstrated how soft skills are central in employer demands in low-skilled work (Friberg & Midtbøen, 2018a;Moss & Tilly, 2003). Moss and Tilly (2003, p. 44) group soft skills into two clusters, interaction and motivation, where interactional skills include friendliness, teamwork, ability to fit in, and appropriate affect, grooming and attire, and motivational skills include enthusiasm, positive work attitude, commitment, dependability and willingness to learn.…”

Migration and sociodemographic factors associated with sense of place attitudes among migrants of African background in Northern and Western Netherlands

“…We further argue that this sense of place dissatisfaction or withdrawal from Dutch society among educated migrants is likely to be because of the education–occupation mismatch (Villarreal, ). Compared with low‐educated migrants, it is expected that educated migrants benefit less from migration because of their economic disadvantage and lack of opportunities in the fields of their educational qualification, often a result of racial and sociodemographic backgrounds (e.g., Djamba & Kimuna, ) and employment hierarchies associated with ethnicity (Friberg & Midtboen, ), among other reasons. This particular finding corroborates several other studies examining the link between PA and education (e.g., Lewicka, ; Maliepaard, Lubbers, & Gijsberts, ) and is well documented in the education–occupation mismatch literature (e.g., Hartog, ; Quintini, ; Villarreal, ).…”