Occupational segregation of Hispanics in U.S. metropolitan areas

Working Paper 2012-242

Abstract

This paper quantifies the occupational segregation of Hispanics in the largest Hispanic enclaves of the U.S. Using a procedure based on propensity score, it also explores the role played by the characteristics of Hispanics in explaining the variation of segregation across metropolitan areas. The lowest conditional segregation generally appears in wellestablished immigrant gateways mainly located near the Mexican border. A regression analysis shows that segregation of Hispanic workers tends to be higher in relatively smaller and highly-educated labor markets, with a lower proportion of Hispanics, and in areas where they face cooler feelings from the rest of the population.

Authors: Olga Alonso-Villar, Carlos Gradin , Coral del Rio.