Upward Occupational Mobility of Immigrant Workers in Spain: Assimilation or Occupational Segmentation?

Abstract

Possibilities for occupational mobility are an important factor in the explanation of the integration of immigrant workers into receiving societies. Moreover, at the individual level, the prospects for upward occupational mobility determine the uncertainty facing immi-grant workers. In this paper, we examine the upward occupational mobility of immigrant workers in Spain. We attempt to explain the key variables determining immigrants’ access to high wages. A multinomial logistic regression examines the interaction between individual variables such as age and education level, and structural variables such as company size and sector. In addition, a factor analysis allows us to group these variables into a typology that classifies career paths according to labour market segmentation.