The emergence of an ‘ethnic economy’? The spatial relationships of migrant workers in London's health and hospitality sectors

Abstract

This paper examines how the globalized nature of London's service sector redefines spatial relationships for recent migrants working in the health and hospitality industries. Findings from the qualitative data demonstrate that recent temporary migrants to the UK employ broader strategies to secure employment than accounted for by current theories. The migrants in our case studies overwhelmingly utilized global and local recruitment and employment agencies, as well as sought employment in industries already established as 'ethnic economies'. We suggest that this might be attributed to a lack of interaction with established co-ethnic immigrant communities; temporary migration trajectories; and living arrangements with co-migrants. We conclude by emphasizing the need to broaden our understanding of ethnic economies and social networks in light of these changing spatial relationships that have emerged through the globalization of the service sector in the UK.

It's all about the Flex: Preference, Flexibility and Power in the Employment of EU Migrants in Low-Skilled Sectors

“…While concerned about the cost and bureaucracy that might be involved in sectorbased schemes or a visa-based system, their main concerns were that the supply might be severely restricted, and that they would lose many of their current employees. These discussions also highlighted an issue for employers, that is the mobility power of their EU workers, which, as Alberti (2014) argues, gives migrants the ability to act strategically (Batnitzky and Mcdowell, 2013) and which could therefore be exercised should the terms of new immigration policies be seen as unfavourable to EU citizens. In particular, some employers were concerned that lengthy and costly visa application processes would discourage potential migrants from considering the UK over other options within the EU.…”

Rethinking Notions of Informal Work: Some Observations from a Pakistani Community in the UK

“…Immigrant and migrant communities, constituting the so-called 'ethnic economy' now contribute greatly to economy practices and life within urban centres in the UK (Edwards et al 2016). However, whilst Batnitzky and McDowell (2013) have highlighted how so-called 'new' migrants (migrants from Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East) are using employment agencies and formal institutions in order to enter into the contemporary UK labour market, our empirical findings demonstrate how Sheffield's Pakistani community continues to use co-ethnic networks in order to navigate UK labour markets. As such, this 'old' migrant group tend to be concentrated in enclaves defined by ethnicity across the city of Sheffield.…”

Reconceptualizing Informal Work Practices: Some Observations from an Ethnic Minority Community in Urban UK

“…Ethnic minority workers contribute greatly to economic practices and life within urban centres in the UK (Batnitzky and McDowell, ; Clark and Colling, ; Edwards et al , ). The reasons for the engagement of ethnic minority workers in informal work are usually explained on the basis of mere observed regularities, taking into account only the constant conjunction of certain events occurring in the process of immigration and the dynamics of market structure.…”