1. IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
Finding Work in America: Employment Outcomes among Recent Immigrants Catherine Arwood The University of Tennessee, Knoxville – College of Social Work
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
CONCLUSIONS
Finding gainful employment is a key factor to self-sufficiency for immigrants and refugees.
Social services providers need to understand the factors influencing successful employment in order to meet the needs of foreign-born clients.
Research question: What are the factors (barriers and facilitators) that influence successful employment among recent immigrants in the United States?
Education levels and English deficiency did not necessarily prevent immigrants from finding employment in the United States
Discrimination may reduce employment chances, especially for female immigrants
Both employed and unemployed Asian and Latino respondents utilized family and friend networks for socialization and emotional support.
IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
RESULTS
English Proficiency
No significant difference in English proficiency between employed and unemployed
Unemployed group reported higher English proficiency than employed
Education
No significant difference in education levels between employed and unemployed
Gender
Females were more likely to be unemployed (16.4%) than men (7.4%)
2 (1, N=373)=7.271, p=0.007
Race/Ethnicity
62.8% of unemployed respondents were Asian
2 (1, N=373)=1.7401, p=0.187
Discrimination
45% of respondents reported experiencing discrimination due to race, ancestry, ethnicity, or skin color
Social Capital
When asked “How often do you let relatives know about your problems”
Social workers should be aware of female immigrant jobseekers as they continue to advocate for gender equality in employment.
This study supports previous research indicating that social networks have proven benefits for foreign-born jobseekers by providing professional networks and support systems (Beaman, 2012; Simich, Beiser, & Mawani, 2003). Social workers should promote healthy social networks among refugees and immigrants.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Analysis of secondary data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS),
STUDY SAMPLE
Non-institutionalized
U.S. Resident
*All respondents (n=373) arrived in the U.S. in the past 5 years and were working or looking for work
Employed (n=330)
Unemployed (n=43)
Gender
Male
187 (56.7%)
15 (34.9%)
Female
143 (43.3%)
28 (65.1%)
Age
18-25
78 (23.6%)
8 (18.6%)
26-35
125 (37.9%)
20 (46.5%)
36-45
72 (21.8%)
46-55
41 (12.4%)
6 (14%)
66 and older
14 (4.2%)
1 (2.3%)
Race/ Ethnicity
Asian
172 (52.1%)
27 (62.8%)
Latino
158 (47.9%)
16 (37.2%)
53.8% of employed & 44.8% of unemployed respondents answered “Always”
2 (4, N=265)=12.718, p=0.013
LIMITATIONS
Only includes Asian and Latino immigrants
Respondents studied arrived within 5 years of survey
Survey does not indicate level of difficulty in finding employment or amount of time seeking employment in the United States
All items were self-reported, which may affect accuracy of results and correlations