Underemployment among Asians in the United States

Anna B. Madamba

Contrary to the stereotype which depicts them as economic successes, Asian workers have a high incidence of underemployment when compared to white workers. This book integrates immigration and labor market trends into an analysis of the economic assimilation of Asians in the U.S. It examines four forms of underemployment (unemployment, part-time employment, working poverty, and job mismatch) for Asian Indian, Filipino, and Vietnamese men and women. This study shows that Asian underemployment rates are consistently higher than for non-Hispanic whites, with Asian Indians having the highest rate. Each Asian group displayed varied effects of human capital, family and household, industry, and assimilation variables on the different underemployment categories. Important implications of the findings show that ethnic group variation in underemployment appears stronger than differences by gender. (Ph.D. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1994; revised with new preface and index)