Unemployment Transitions among Brazilians in the United States and Canada

Abstract

This study uses the job search framework to examine the unemployment experiences of Brazilian immigrants in the North American labour force. Primary data gathered in Canada and the United States is used in these analyses. The model generally used to monitor transitions among the native-born was modified to make it more appropriate to the immigrant experience. To do this a composite model was constructed that incorporates variables unique to the immigrant experience.Event history analyses revealed that, in general, job search theory is very relevant for examining the transitions of immigrants. However, not all standard measures behaved as predicted (e.g. reservation wage). Several immigrant specific variables were very significant (e.g. target earner and legal status) and improved the overall model fit. Brazilians who worked primarily with other co-ethnics were more likely to become re-employed than those who did not, while working for a Brazilian employer had no effect on being re-employed. US/Canadian comparisons also revealed that residents of Canada endured longer periods of unemployment. We believe this result is because Canadian residents had greater access to public services and, as such, were able to have higher reservation wages.

‘Going to Brazil’: transnational and corporeal movements of a Canadian‐Brazilian martial arts community

“…Canadians interested in incorporating the activity into their dance, martial art, fitness, health, spiritual or leisure lifestyles in the early 1990s would have turned to young Brazilian men who worked primarily in low-skilled jobs as janitors, construction workers, dishwashers or waiters (Goza and DeMaris 2003), and had limited capoeira experience. These men were able to draw on their corporeal skills, connections in Brazil and business acumen to teach classes in a park, community centre, dance studio or martial art school.…”

“…Through the interdisciplinary nature of this study I make several unique contributions. With the exception of the special issue of Ilha do Desterro (2001) and the works on labour by Franklin Goza and his colleagues (Goza 1994(Goza , 1999Goza and DeMaris 2003), Brazilian-Canadian flows have been largely overlooked in the transnationality literature. In English, scholarly work about capoeira is rare although the body is often made central (see Bruhns 2000;Delamont 2005;Downey 2002Downey , 2005Lewis 1995;Stephens and Delamont 2006;Talmon-Chvaicer 2004).…”

Brasileiros no exterior e cidadania (1980-2005)

“…Ao chegar com vistos de turismo e ao exceder o tempo autorizado de permanência (GOZA 1999(GOZA , 2003 ou ao entrar ilegalmente nos países, os trabalhadores colocam-se numa situação de extrema vulnerabilidade: não têm acesso a direitos trabalhistas, quase sempre trabalham por valores muito inferiores aos salá-rios mínimos locais, estão sujeitos às denúncias, fazem jornadas de trabalho desumanas, podem não receber pelo trabalho etc. A questão básica é a relação de inferioridade em relação ao empregador.…”

“…Isso devido à ideologia da busca por quantidades planejadas de capital, ou seja, a prática daquele imigrante que trabalha muito para acumular uma quantidade planejada de capital e depois voltar para casa (GOZA, 2003). Por outro lado, a maioria dos imigrantes brasileiros nega seu status de imigrante.…”

Nouveaux arrivants de 1989, langue et mobilité professionnelle sur le marché du travail de Montréal : une approche longitudinale

“…contraire ou, plus précisément, certaines études empiriques ne signalent aucune trace évidente de l'effet de la compétence linguistique sur la situation des immigrants eu égard au marché du travail (Portes et Stepick, 1985;Rosenstein, 1985;Evans, 1987;Evans et Kelley, 1987;Renaud, 1992;Goza et al, 1996). Les écrits recensés ne reposent pas toujours sur des preuves empiriques solides de l'effet des compétences linguistiques.…”