Immigrants in the Labour Market: Transnationalism and Segmentation

Abstract

Various theories speak towards the labour market segmentation of an immigrant workforce. Theoretical frameworks such as Dual Labour Market Theory or Hierarchy Theory provide some value in outlining why immigrants are often found in the least desirable forms of employment. However, most theories do not consider the phenomenon of immigrant transnationalism and how forces at multiple scales shape labour market trajectories. In this paper we argue that traditional theories primarly consider socioeconomic factors in destination countries, and focus on factors at the local or national scale of analysis. In contrast, the literature on transnationalism illustrates how socioeconomic processes that operate at the global scale also influence the employment trajectories of immigrants. The integration of transnationalism with traditional labour market theories therefore provides a more complete picture when trying to understand the segmentation of an immigrant workforce.

The mobility of workers living at work in Europe

“…While we are aware that workers in dormitories live in hyper-precarious conditions (Lewis et al, 2015), our findings suggest that the workplace itself contributes to creating the conditions for some form of workers’ transnational mobility power (Alberti, 2014; Andrijasevic and Sacchetto, 2016; Smith, 2006). We thus agree with the body of literature that considers labor’s free mobility as a form of power and highlights the role played by migrant workers in the regulation of labor markets (Lusis and Bauder, 2010).…”

Migración sur-sur y desigualdad: alteraciones en la incorporación laboral de migrantes peruanos en la Ciudad de Córdoba, Argentina, 2001-2010

“…El uso de la teoría del mercado de trabajo segmentado para explicar la situación laboral de migrantes (Lusis y Bauder, 2009), toma en cuenta que su incorporación al sector tradicional sucede a menudo por la falta de regularización de la condición migratoria, que limita las posibilidades solo a cierto tipo de empleo y los vuelve vulnerables y explotables (Bauder, 2008). Pero la ubicación de los migrantes en estos sectores también obedece a la existencia de redes horizontales -de ayuda mutua-, que facilitan contactos para conseguir empleo, dentro de un círculo con opciones restringidas; y también por redes verticales -de contratación-, que buscan trabajadores en los países de origen para satisfacer necesidades en ramas laborales específicas.…”

Motivation, Migration and Non-standard Employment: A Survey Among Temporary Agency Workers

“…The circular or seasonal migrant may have other expectations of their employment contracts in liminal or exceptional spaces in their host countries (Longva 1997) than they would in their home country, which Waldinger and Lichter (2003:40) term a 'dual frame of reference'. Other contributions point to the different expectations of the labor market when mobility stems from necessity rather than choice (Duncan et al 2013;Lusis & Bauder 2010). In a study from Norway, Abrahamsen and Drange (2015) demonstrate that while career ambitions for students with different ethnic backgrounds are similar, career expectations are considerably lower among ethnic minority students.…”