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.

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Large-scale migration of workers from new EU member states to the Nordic countries, mostly to fill relatively low-skilled jobs in construction, manufacturing and services, has raised concerns of low-wage competition and the ability of the Nordic social model to uphold labour standards. This article explores variations in wages and working conditions among Polish migrant workers in Oslo, Copenhagen and Reykjavik. The analysis highlights how different institutional configurations within the Nordic labour markets shape the outcomes for migrant workers, and raises questions regarding the ability of the different variations of the Nordic labour market regime to protect workers in an open, unequal and mobile European labour market.

Following large-scale labour migration from Poland to the Norwegian construction sector since 2004, new ethnic divisions of labour have been established between the usually native core workforces of construction firms, and Polish migrant workers hired through temporary subcontracting and staffing agencies. Survey data suggest that there is very little mobility between these segments of the labour market. The establishment and reproduction of this ethnic division of labour is analysed through qualitative interviews with Norwegian employers and Polish migrant workers. Polish migrants and their particular 'work culture' are perceived by Norwegian employers as well-suited for work in the firms' temporary external workforces but unfit for permanent positions unless they assimilate to a 'Norwegian work culture'. These stereotyped employment practices are reinforced by the migrants' own tactical use of the cultural capital available to them when negotiating the conflicting expectations in different job segments.

This article explores how immigrant niches have emerged within two traditional working-class industries in Norway. Drawing on extensive case studies in urban and coastal areas, we analyze how employers perceive the availability and desirability of native-born and immigrant workers and discuss how these perceptions are related to underlying changes in the structure of employment. The article contributes to the literature by developing a general model of the formation of immigrant niches as well as pointing out the context-specific institutional conditions that explain how and why such niches emerge in the first place.