Migrants, manufacturing and metropolitan labour markets in Australia

Abstract

While the experience of migrants in the Australian labour market has received considerable attention, few researchers have asked how uniform this experience has been across the country's major metropolitan labour markets. This paper shows that migrants employed in the manufacturing sector exhibit noticeable differences in their relative access to jobs in different parts of the country. This evidence raises a number of questions about the appropriate scale within which to consider the labour participation and occupational selection experience of migrant men and women.