Working Paper: NBER ID: w27243
Authors: George J. Borjas; Hugh Cassidy
Abstract: Employment rates in the United States fell dramatically between February 2020 and April 2020 as the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic reverberated through the labor market. This paper uses data from the CPS Basic Monthly Files to document that the employment decline was particularly severe for immigrants. Historically, immigrant men were more likely to be employed than native men. The COVID-related labor market disruptions eliminated the immigrant employment advantage. By April 2020, immigrant men had lower employment rates than native men. Part of the relative increase in the immigrant rate of job loss arises because immigrants were less likely to work in jobs that could be performed remotely and suffered disparate employment consequences as the lockdown permitted workers with more “remotable” skills to continue their work from home. Undocumented men were particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with their rate of job loss far exceeding the rate of job loss of legal immigrants.
Keywords: COVID-19; immigrant employment; labor market shock
JEL Codes: J01; J21; J61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Job characteristics (M54) | Employment outcomes during the pandemic (J68) |
| Immigrant concentration in non-remote jobs (J69) | Differential impact on immigrant employment (J68) |
| Pandemic (H12) | Immigrant employment rates (J68) |
| Pandemic (H12) | Job loss rates for immigrant men (J69) |
| Pandemic (H12) | Job loss rates for native men (J63) |
| Precarious employment status (J63) | Vulnerability to economic shocks for undocumented immigrants (K37) |