Job search, social networks, and local labor-market dynamics: The case of paid household work in San Diego, California

Drawing on original interview and survey data, this paper examines the loca l labor-market dynamics for immigrant Mexicana household workers in San Die go, California. The study focuses on paid domestic "job workers" who clean the homes of several different employers each week and who are generally pa id "under the table." This paper addresses two questions: (1) What is the s ocial and geographical organization of the local labor market for paid hous ehold workers in San Diego? and (2) What are the implications of the local labor-market dynamics for the social relations of domestic workers and the space of the city? The analysis particularly emphasizes the role of job sea rch in defining the terms of employment in paid household work. Because one of the most important ways of finding house-cleaning jabs is through perso nal referrals, the social networks of workers are also explored. The paper argues that the labor-market dynamics for paid household work contribute to the residential clustering of immigrants, and help create and maintain dif ferences among domestic workers and hierarchical relations between workers and their employers. The findings of this case study have implications for other expanding contingent and informal labor markets.