Ethnicity and labour market performance among recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel

The study is designed to examine the effect of ethnic origin on the economi c performance of immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the Israeli lab our market, as measured by (1) labour-force participation; (2) occupational mobility; and (3) earnings. We differentiate between two distinct groups o f immigrants: those who came from Asia and those who came from European rep ublics of the former Soviet Union. All immigrants arrived in Israel during the last quarter of 1990. Data on these immigrants were obtained from a lon gitudinal special survey conducted by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statist ics in 1992, 1993, and 1994. The results show that gender and ethnicity are major determinants of immigrants' assimilation into the Israeli labour mar ket. The effect of ethnic origin is evident in all measures of economic per formance among women, and in earnings among men. Other things being equal, Asian women are less likely than European women to participate in the labou r force, to work in high-status occupations, and to earn as much as Europea n women do. Asian men earn less than equally qualified European men. These findings are discussed in light of theoretical models of immigrants' assimi lation and ethnic-based stratification.