The Transition from School to Work for Children of Immigrants with Lower-Level Educational Credentials in the United States and France

Abstract

This paper compares the transition from school to work among Mexican-origin youth in the United States and North African-origin youth in France relative to the native-majority youth with similar low-level credentials. The goal is to understand the extent to which these groups experience ethnic penalties in the labor market not explained by social class, low-level credentials, or other characteristics. The patterns of employment for second-generation minorities play out differently in the two contexts. In France, lack of access to jobs is a source of disadvantage for North African children of immigrants, while in the United States, second-generation Mexicans do not suffer from a lack of employment. Indeed, the Mexican second-generation shows a uniquely high level of employment. We argue that high levels of youth unemployment in the society, as is the case in France, means greater ethnic penalties for second-generation minorities.

Perceptions of success among working-class children of immigrants in three cities

“…This argument cannot be extended to the more open American system, however. Research on labor market outcomes of CIM points to their mobility vis-a-vis the first generation but that low levels of education have a large effect on their occupational outcomes whereby they are more likely than native whites to be working in low-paying jobs without benefits (Duncan et al, 2006; Lutz et al, 2014; Reimers, 1985; Telles and Ortiz, 2008; Waldinger et al, 2007). This means that they experience simultaneous intergenerational mobility emphasized by neo-assimilationists and downward assimilation assumed within the segmented assimilation model.…”

Citizen Outsider

“…They are more likely than whites to hold jobs beneath their educational attainment level. The disadvantage that second-generation North African immigrants experience vis-à-vis whites cannot be explained entirely by differences in levels of educational attainment (Lutz et al 2014;Silberman et al 2007). 48 As of 2003, about 15 percent of second-generation North African immigrant men, and about 23 percent of second-generation North African immigrant women, held salaried jobs.…”

Working–Class Children of Mexican Immigrants in Dallas, Texas

“…Utilizing large scale data quantitative data analysis, our previous work (Lutz et al. 2014) shows that the children of immigrants from Mexico with low educational credentials have extremely high rates of employment. DFW's booming economy has provided a context where such a phenomenon can be investigated in more detail.…”

“…This could change, however, given the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which has had large disruptions for the economy and daily life. Elsewhere we have argued that the incorporation of the second generation is linked to the economic context (Lutz, Brinbaum and Abdelhady 2014). Fewer jobs could hinder the integration of the Mexican second generation in the future.…”