From Chinatown to Every Town: New Patterns of Employment for Low-Skilled Chinese Immigrants in the United States.

Building on the growing literature on new immigrant destinations, this paper examines new employment patterns of low-skilled Chinese immigrants in the United States. We identify an important channel of employment in new destinations for the case of Chinese low-skilled immigrants: employment agencies in New York City's Chinatown. We carried out two surveys of employment agencies during 2010–2011. Our findings suggest that there has been a profound change in settlement patterns of low-skilled immigrants: moving away from traditional Chinatowns in major American cities toward non-gateway destinations and rural areas. These new settlement locations are characterized by a low unemployment rate and low crime rate. Contrary to predictions from ethnic economy and mainstream economic perspectives, Chinese restaurant jobs tend not to be in places with a high concentration of Chinese immigrants, but rather in places with a high proportion of non-Hispanic whites. In addition, the farther the jobs are from New York City, the higher the salary. We discuss the implications of this fundamental change for re-conceptualizing the immigrant labor market and immigrant socioeconomic mobility in American society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]