Job Search Methods and Their Success: A Comparison of Immigrants and Natives in the UK

Abstract

A major issue in the immigration debate concerns whether immigrants take jobs away from natives. In this article, we present new evidence on the job search methods used by immigrants, and their relative success in gaining employment, in the UK. We find that: (1) immigrant job search is less successful than that of natives; (2) immigrants are as likely to gain employment through informal methods as via verifiable routes; (3) the probability of success increases with years since migration. The finding that immigrants do not effectively compete for jobs may help explain why immigration has little impact on native employment.