Racial and ethnic differences in job-search strategies in Atlanta, Boston,and Los Angeles

Objective. Recent research on employer hiring and worker search behavior ha s emphasized the importance of social ties in matching workers to job oppor tunities. There are mixed results in the empirical research, however, regar ding the effects of informal search methods for minorities. In the present study we examine two questions: Do racial and ethnic groups vary in their j ob-search strategies! Do the effects of job-search strategies vary for raci al and ethnic groups! Methods. Datal are drawn from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality, which includes a random sample of households in Atlanta, Boston, and Los Angeles. Results. We find that Hispanics rely much more he avily on informal search strategies than do other race and ethnic groups, a nd that use of these informal strategies leads to lower-paying jobs. We als o find that relying on a friend or relative to locate a job is especially d etrimental for Hispanics and that using a multiplex tie (i.e., a person who is a friend or relative, a coworker, and a neighbor) leads to lower-paying jobs for Blacks and higher-paying jobs for Whites. Conclusions. Our findin gs suggest that a better understanding of racial and ethnic differences in search strategy results may require a more detailed examination of racial a nd ethnic differences in the kinds of jobs produced by informal searches an d the types of employers who are more likely to use word-of-mouth recruitme nt.