Are Natives and Immigrants Different? Job Search Methods and Wages: Are Natives and Immigrants Different?

Differences in job search behaviour and access to high quality informal networks may be an important reason why immigrants fare worse than natives in many European labour markets. In this study, we design and conduct a survey of newly hired workers in the Swedish labour market to analyse if there are ethnic differences in the choice of search intensity/methods and in the successful search method for finding the job. We also investigate if the wage and other characteristics of the new job differ depending on the search method resulting in a job. Our data includes very detailed information about the workers’ job search, their informal networks, and the characteristics of their new jobs. We find that immigrants use all search methods more than natives, but that they in particular rely more on informal search. Moreover, we show that, for immigrants, the search method resulting in a job is more likely to be informal search through their relatives and friends. However, we also find that jobs obtained through this search channel are associated with lower wages. JEL classification: J24, J31, J64, J71