| dc.description.abstract | The topics about immigrants in media, and academia are not rare anymore due to the rise of immigrants in the global north at an exponential rate. However, despite the extensive number of studies on such topics, the clustering of immigrants in elementary occupations in the host countries is still much visible due to different reasons and it is not an exception for countries like Norway where social equality is enshrined.
Considering Norway, one putative cause of immigrants’ clustering in elementary occupations in addition to most pronounced reasons such as language barrier is ethnic discrimination. Therefore, this qualitative study was conducted to explore how ethnicity affects the occupational choices of immigrant laborers in Kristiansand, Norway, and what other specific factors lead to the clustering of immigrant employees in elementary occupations. The hospitality industry in Kristiansand, Norway was selected as a case study, and mixed techniques of coding and thematic analysis were used for analyzing the transcribed semi-structured interviews.
As the results of the study demonstrated, the ethnicity of immigrants is considered by some employers as a proxy to determine the suitability of immigrant job applicants for certain jobs. Thus, immigrants are perceived by a majority of employers as workers suitable for physically demanding jobs in the lower segment of the labor market. On the other hand, some employers consider the ethnicity of immigrant job applicants to avoid or reduce the participation of certain ethnic groups in the upper segment of the labor market due to a mere dislike they have regarding certain ethnic groups. Similarly, the poor social and human capital of immigrants, labor market segmentation, and immigrants’ dual frame of reference were also found as major reasons for immigrants’ clustering in elementary occupations | |
