Who Got Downsized by the Great Recession? Unemployment Differentials by Nativity, Race, and Gender in the U.S. from 2007 to 2013

Sharron X. Wang, Texas A&M University
Arthur Sakamoto, Texas A&M University

In this paper, We investigate unemployment inequalities among immigrants and native-born Americans. Between 2007 and 2009, the Great Recession led to an economic downturn with high unemployment rates. Using data from the Current Population Survey, we compare the trends in unemployment from 2007 to 2013. Although the overall focus is on differentials between immigrants and native-born Americans, gender and racial/ethnic groups are also considered. The findings indicate that immigrants overall had a significantly lower likelihood of being unemployed across these years. Immigrant non-Hispanic Whites had significantly higher likelihoods of unemployment than native-born non-Hispanic Whites, while immigrants of other racial/ethnic groups had lower likelihoods of unemployment than their native-born counterparts across these years. Hispanic male immigrants and Asian female immigrants experienced higher likelihoods of unemployment than their non-Hispanic white counterparts during the recession. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.