Job Loss Among Immigrant and Native Workers: Evidence from Spain's Economic Downturn

The profound crisis that has affected the Spanish economy since mid-2008 has been characterized by significant job losses and a marked rise in the country's unemployment rate. However, unemployment has had a differential impact on different population groups. Compared to natives, immigrant workers have experienced higher rates of job loss. Against this backdrop, this paper examines the differences between immigrants and natives (distinguished by gender) in terms of their probability of suffering job loss in the downturn of late 2008 and 2009. Our results indicate that the higher rate of job loss among female immigrant workers can be fully explained by their lower endowment of human capital. By contrast, human capital endowment and over-representation in certain occupations, sectors and regions in which the crisis had greatest impact do not appear to be the only reasons for the penalty suffered by immigrant males in terms of their chances of losing their job in the downturn.