abstract: 'This paper examines how different groups fit into the Los Angeles

  economy. We systematically analyze change in the employment patterns in

  20 different sectors for 1970, 1980, and 1990 for the three largest

  native-born ethnic groups (Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics) and

  the two largest foreign-born subpopulations (Hispanics and Asians).

  Given the size of the foreign-born population in Los Angeles and their

  concentration in low-wage jobs, we pay particular attention to shifts in

  the sectoral allocation of working immigrants and native-born Blacks and

  Hispanics. Our application of shift-share analysis to decompose

  employment change by sector by ethnic group reveals that in the

  expanding Los Angeles job market of the 1970s and 1980s, immigrants

  experienced major job gains-both relatively and absolutely. Native-born

  Whites gained absolutely in several sectors, but at a rate below that of

  growth in total employment, and thus became a proportionately smaller

  fraction of the work force. African Americans experienced complex

  labor-market outcomes. We show that the African American labor force

  grew faster than total regional employment in the 1970s, and that they

  held labor-market comparative advantage in several important sectors. In

  the 1980s, this position switched to one of comparative disadvantage

  throughout most of the economy as native Black employment grew more

  slowly than the region''s total labor force. Native-barn Hispanics also

  lost labor-market comparative advantage as their employment growth also

  dipped below the regional growth rate in the 1980s. The results suggest

  that both nativity and ethnicity are important elements in the

  intraurban division of labor in Los Angeles and that the articulation of

  these elements may be shifting in response to persistent immigration.

  These outcomes have relevance to the important debates on urban

  restructuring, the so-called urban underclass, and immigration policy.'
affiliation: 'Wright, R (Corresponding Author), DARTMOUTH COLL,DEPT GEOG,HANOVER,NH
  03755, USA.

  UNIV CALIF LOS ANGELES,DEPT GEOG,LOS ANGELES,CA 90024.'
author: Wright, R and Ellis, M
author_list:
- family: Wright
  given: R
- family: Ellis
  given: M
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.2747/0272-3638.18.3.243
files: []
issn: 0272-3638
journal: URBAN GEOGRAPHY
keywords-plus: NEW-YORK; UNITED-STATES; IMMIGRANT; SEGREGATION
language: English
month: APR 1
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '45'
orcid-numbers: 'Ellis, Mark/0000-0002-0435-1348

  Wright, Richard/0000-0002-9884-7343'
pages: 243-263
papis_id: 8ae9ed08f8d096a0a8fbcf64317e4186
ref: Wright1997nativityethnicity
researcherid-numbers: 'Ellis, Mark/H-5271-2012

  '
times-cited: '26'
title: Nativity ethnicity, and the evolution of the intraurban division of labor in
  metropolitan Los Angeles, 1970-1990
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:A1997XX96600005
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '7'
volume: '18'
web-of-science-categories: Geography; Urban Studies
year: '1997'