Complement or competition: Latino employment in a nontraditional settlement area

The migration of Latinos to nontraditional settlement areas in the United States is renewing interest in how an established low-skilled work force is affected by the inflow of a minority group whose members tend to have a weak basket of human capital. Some scholars focus on how the incoming group creates head-to-head competition with established workers. An alternative view posits that, depending on the context of the receiving labor market, incoming workers may primarily fill roles that complement preexisting labor market arrangements. I study these issues in the region of the country that has experienced the most pronounced in-migration of Latinos during the past few years. The findings indicate migrating Latinos tend to complement preexisting labor market conditions rather than spark job competition and undercut the earning power of non-Latinos.

► Decline of low-skilled native southern workers provides job opportunities for migrating workers.
► Latino nonagricultural employment in the South concentrates in jobs that are on the decline.
► Earnings of low-skilled native workers are not negatively affected by Latino migration to South.