Black/immigrant competition re-assessed: new evidence from Los Angeles.

Findings are presented from a survey of employers conducted to assess the impact of immigration and employer practices upon the chances of Blacks finding employment in Los Angeles. The highest ranking person involved in the hiring process at each of 44 restaurants, 46 printers, 41 hotels, and 39 furniture manufacturers was interviewed. The hiring of new employees drawn from the network of current employees seems to have the dual function of bringing immigrant communities into the workplace, while detaching vacancies from the open market, thereby reducing the number of employment opportunities for Blacks. Employers also perceived immigrants to be far more desirable employees than Blacks, partly because they believe that immigrants will work more productively. Immigrants are also seen as the more tractable laborers. Any managerial propensity to favor immigrants over Blacks will probably be reinforced by the attitudes of the mainly Latino work force, for placing a Black worker in a mainly Latino work crew may frustrate productivity given the animosity between the two ethnic groups. Blacks also appear to opt out of the low-level labor market in response to rising expectations, on the one hand, and the anticipation of encountering employment difficulties on the other.