Discussion Paper

Mismatch of Jobs and People: Do Migration Constraints Put Racial Minorities at a Disadvantage?

Abstract: Using the American Community Survey between 2005 and 2017, this article explores the evidence for potential migration constraints by comparing distributions of people and jobs across race and education. Using the Delta Index of dissimilarity, it illustrates a greater distributional mismatch between workers and jobs among racial minorities, relative to White non-Hispanics. This mismatch suggests greater migration constraints among racial minorities.

Keywords: people-based; social costs; Delta Index; racial labor market disparities; mismatch; migration costs; place-based;

JEL Classification: J15; J18; J61;

https://doi.org/10.29338/ph2020-06

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Part of Series: Policy Hub*

Publication Date: 2020-06-14

Number: 2020-6