Abstract
The number of migrants to the United States from Africa has grown exponentially since the 1930s. For the first time in America’s history, migrants born in Africa are growing at a faster rate than migrants from any other continent. The composition of African-origin migrants has also changed dramatically: in the mid-twentieth century, the majority were white and came from only three countries; but today, about one-fifth are white, and African-origin migrants hail from across the entire continent. Little is known about the implications of these changes for their labor market outcomes in the United States. Using the 2000–2011 waves of the American Community Survey, we present a picture of enormous heterogeneity in labor market participation, sectoral choice, and hourly earnings of male and female migrants by country of birth, race, age at arrival in the United States, and human capital. For example, controlling a rich set of human capital and demographic characteristics, some migrants—such as those from South Africa/Zimbabwe and Cape Verde, who typically enter on employment visas—earn substantial premiums relative to other African-origin migrants. These premiums are especially large among males who arrived after age 18. In contrast, other migrants—such as those from Sudan/Somalia, who arrived more recently, mostly as refugees—earn substantially less than migrants from other African countries. Understanding the mechanisms generating the heterogeneity in these outcomes—including levels of socioeconomic development, language, culture, and quality of education in countries of origin, as well as selectivity of those who migrate—figures prominently among important unresolved research questions.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Estimates suggest that about 20 % are unauthorized entrants, which is small relative to the estimate for foreign-born Hispanics (Capps et al. 2012). Very few “other” visas have been issued to African-origin migrants other than between 1990 and 1992 under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Among men, African-born Asians also earned less than whites. Among women, there were no differences.
Each wave of the ACS is representative of the United States population. In 2005, the number of housing units sampled was increased by a factor of 3.5. This change in sampling rates is taken into account by reporting estimates that are weighted using the ACS sampling weights.
Cape Verdeans dominate those who self-identify as an “other” race, accounting for 42 % of these respondents; Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, and South Africa account for another 30 %, in roughly equal proportions. On average, these respondents report earnings that are very similar to those of blacks, which are much lower than those of whites and Asians. The same is true for education excluding the Cape Verdeans who are, on average, substantially less well-educated than other African-born migrants.
References
Borch, C., & Corra, M. K. (2010). Differences in earnings among black and white African immigrants in the U.S., 1980–2000: A cross-sectional and temporal analysis. Sociological Perspectives, 53, 573–592.
Borjas, G. (1999). The economic analysis of immigration. In O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (Eds.), Handbook of labor economics (Vol. 3A, pp. 1697–1760). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: North Holland, Elsevier Science.
Butcher, K. F. (1994). Black immigrants in the U.S.: A comparison of native blacks and other immigrants. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 47, 265–284.
Capps, R., McCabe, K., & Fix, M. (2012). Diverse streams: Black African migration to the U.S.. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
Card, D. (1999). The causal effect of education on earnings. In O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (Eds.), Handbook of labor economics (Vol. 3A, pp. 1801–1863). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: North Holland, Elsevier Science.
Corra, M. K., & Kimuna, S. R. (2009). Double jeopardy? Female African and Caribbean immigrants in the U.S. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 35, 1015–1035.
Dodoo, F. N.-A. (1997). Assimilation differences among Africans in America. Social Forces, 76, 527–546.
Dodoo, F. N.-A., & Takyi, B. K. (2002). Africans in the diaspora: Black-white differences among America’s Africans. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 25, 913–941.
Dunn, T., & Holtz-Eakin, D. (2000). Financial capital, human capital and the transition to self-employment: Evidence from intergenerational links. Journal of Labor Economics, 18, 282–305.
Evans, D., & Jovanovic, B. (1989). An estimated model of entrepreneurial choice under liquidity constraints. Journal of Political Economy, 97, 808–827.
Fairlie, R. (2013). Minority and immigrant entrepreneurs: Access to financial capital. In K. F. Zimmermann & A. F. Constant (Eds.), International handbook on the economics of migration (pp. 153–175). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Hout, M. (2012). Social and economic returns to college education in the United States. Annual Review of Sociology, 38, 379–400.
Jasso, G. (2011). Migration and stratification. Social Science Research, 40, 1292–1336.
Kollehlon, K. T., & Eule, E. E. (2003). The socioeconomic attainment patterns of Africans in the U.S. International Migration Review, 37, 1163–1190.
Kposowa, A. (2002). Human capital and the performance of African immigrants in the U.S. labor market. Western Journal of Black Studies, 26, 175–183.
Logan, B. I., & Thomas, K. J. A. (2012). The U.S. diversity visa program and the transfer of skills from Africa. International Migration, 50(2), 1–19.
Mincer, J. (1974). Schooling, experience and earnings. New York, NY: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Mutchler, J. E., Prakash, A., & Burr, J. A. (2007). The demography of disability and effects of immigrant history: Older Asians in the United States. Demography, 44, 251–263.
Ratha, D., Mohapatra, S., Özden, Ç., Plaza, S., Shaw, W., & Shimeles, A. (2011). Leveraging migration for Africa: Remittances, skills and investments. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Stewart, Q. T., & Dixon, J. C. (2010). Is it race, immigrant status, or both? An analysis of wage disparities among men in the U.S. International Migration Review, 44, 173–201.
Thomas, K. J. A. (2009). Parental characteristics and the schooling progress of the children of immigrant and U.S.-born blacks. Demography, 46, 513–534.
Thomas, K. J. A. (2011a). What explains the increasing trend in African emigration to the U.S.? International Migration Review, 45, 3–28.
Thomas, K. J. A. (2011b). Familial influences on poverty among young children in black immigrant, U.S.-born black, and nonblack immigrant families. Demography, 48, 437–460.
Thomas, K. J. A. (2012). Migration processes, familial characteristics, and schooling dropout among black youths. Demography, 49, 477–498.
Tucker, C., Miller, S., & Parker, J. (2002). Comparing census race data under the old and new standards. In J. Perlmann & M. Waters (Eds.), The new race question: How the census counts multiracial individuals (pp. 365–390). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2011). American Community Survey, 2000–2011. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/acs/www/
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2002–2011). Yearbook of immigration and statistics, 2002–2011. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics.
U. S. Department of Homeland Security. (2012). Yearbook of immigration statistics, 2011. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics
U.S. Department of Justice (1982–2001). Statistical yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1982–2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a pilot project grant from the Population Aging Research Center (PARC) and the Population Studies Center (PSC), University of Pennsylvania, with funding from the National Institute on Aging (P30AG012836) and the Eunice Shriver Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Development Population Research Infrastructure Program (R24 HD-044964).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Elo, I.T., Frankenberg, E., Gansey, R. et al. Africans in the American Labor Market. Demography 52, 1513–1542 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-015-0417-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-015-0417-y