Abtract

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that health care support and personal care and services occupations will have the largest projected growth (34.5% and 26.8%, respectively) of all major occupation groups between 2010 and 2020. The numbers of immigrants in the health care work force are steadily growing, and about 40% of African immigrants in health care work in low wage health care support occupations. The purpose of this project is to use qualitative individual interviews with a subset of African immigrants and refugees in Pittsburgh in order to advance research on the entry, experiences, and occupational mobility of African immigrants in low wage direct care occupations.

Abstract

Why do employers discriminate against job applicants who reside in poor, distant neighborhoods? Previous research indicates that employers call back applicants from these neighborhoods at lower rates, but the motivation for employer discrimination based on residential neighborhood remains unclear. Employers could be responding to long commuting distances, which could lead to higher employee absence/tardiness rates or fatigue on the job. On the other hand, employers may perceive workers from particular neighborhoods to be lower quality workers, on average, and thus discriminate based on neighborhood characteristics such as poverty or racial composition rather than distance to the job. The distinction between discrimination based on commuting distance versus neighborhood characteristics matters for public policy. Some policy responses, such as public transit improvements, may be appropriate if employers respond to distance itself but not if they respond to fixed neighborhood attributes.