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Title: Segmented Assimilation, Split Labor Markets, and Race/Ethnicity Stratification: The Case of New York in the Early Twentieth Century

Citation Type: Conference Paper

Publication Year: 2009

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Abstract: Assimilation and split labor market processes have been core foci in literature on immigration, race/ethnicity, and stratification. Prior research, however, has typically examined these processes separately, seldom devoting attention to how the intersection of individual assimilative behaviors and group-level power dynamics contribute to employment opportunities and returns. In this study, we incorporate and integrate aspects of segmented assimilation and split labor market perspectives. Drawing data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) for New York City, 1910-1930 and supplementing quantitative analyses with qualitative archival data, we examine the effects of assimilative attributes on employment outcomes for whites, white ethnics, and blacks as well as the role of split labor market dynamics in shaping rewards. Results suggest individual assimilative attributes contribute to group-level variations in socioeconomic status, but that inequalities and clear racial/ethnic occupational hierarchies remain. Certain groupsnotably new stock immigrants and blacksencountered social closure which prevented full participation within New York City's labor market, regardless of individual efforts to assimilate. The implications of simultaneously examining assimilation and labor market processes for future research are discussed.

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Authors: Roscigno, Vincent; Restifo, Salvatore; Qian, Zhenchao

Conference Name: Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association

Publisher Location: San Francisco, CA

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Migration and Immigration, Race and Ethnicity

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