Abstract
Disasters provide opportunities to study the social and economic dimensions of large-scale shifts. Drawn by the surge in demand for low-skill construction workers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Latino immigrants represented a substantial share of the New Orleans reconstruction workforce. Scholars, however, have yet to examine how the increased presence of immigrants affected U.S.-born workers in New Orleans. In this analysis, we investigate how the influx of Latino immigrant construction workers shaped the demographic composition and occupational-wage structure of the New Orleans construction sector. Using IPUMS-U.S.A. data from the 2000 and 2006–2010 periods for the New Orleans MSA, we employ logistic and multinomial logistic regression models to analyze a sample of 3,206 foreign-born Latinos, U.S.-born whites, U.S.-born blacks, and others employed in the construction industry. Our analysis indicates that the probability of U.S.-born workers being employed in construction remained stable from the pre- to post-storm period, even as we find evidence of an emerging immigrant employment niche in the post-Katrina construction industry. After the storm, however, Latino immigrants were much more heavily concentrated in occupations at the bottom end of the construction industry’s wage structure, while the relative position of U.S.-born workers improved across the two periods. Together, these findings show that disasters, like other structural shifts, can yield the conditions that produce immigrant employment niches. Moreover, our results indicate that while employment niches provide economic opportunities for the foreign-born, they can also intensify the disadvantage experienced by immigrant workers.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adelman, R. M., Lippard, C., Jaret, C., & Reid, L. W. (2005). Jobs, poverty, and earnings in American Metropolises: Do immigrants really hurt the economic outcomes of blacks? Sociological Focus, 38(4), 261–285.
Allen, S. G. (1989). Declining unionization in construction: The facts and the reasons. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Belasen, A. R., & Polachek, S. W. (2008). How hurricanes affect wages and employment in local labor markets. The American Economic Review, 98(2), 49–53.
Borjas, G. J. (2003). The labor demand curve is downward sloping: Reexamining the impact of immigration on the labor market. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4), 1335–1374.
Borjas, G. J., Freeman, R. B., & Katz, L. (1996). Searching for the effect of immigration on the labor market. The American Economic Review, 82(2), 246–251.
Brunsma, D. L., Overfelt, D., & Picou, S. J. (2007). The sociology of Katrina: Perspectives on a modern catastrophe (p. 91). Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
Brunsma, D., & Steven Picou, J. (2008). Disasters in the twenty-first century: Modern destruction and future instruction. Social Forces, 87(2), 983–991.
Card, D. (2001). Immigrant inflows, native outflows, and the local labor market impacts of higher immigration. Journal of Labor Economics, 19(1), 22–64.
Card, D. (2005). Is the new immigration really so bad? The Economic Journal, 115(507), F300–F323.
Catanzarite, L., & Trimble, L. (2008). Latinos in the United States labor market. In H. Rodríguez, R. Sáenz, & C. Menjívar (Eds.), Latinas/os in the United States: Changing the face of América (pp. 149–167). Springer US.
Donato, K. M., Trujillo-Pagán, N., Bankston, C. L, I. I. I., & Singer, A. (2007). Reconstructing New Orleans after Katrina: The emergence of an immigrant labor niche. In D. L. Brunsma, D. Overfelt, & S. J. Picou (Eds.), The sociology of Katrina: Perspectives on a modern catastrophe (pp. 217–234). Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
Donner, W., & Rodríguez, H. (2008). Population composition, migration and inequality: The influence of demographic changes on disaster risk and vulnerability. Social Forces, 87(2), 1089–1114.
Drever, A. I., & Blue, S. A. (2011). Surviving Sin Papeles in post-Katrina New Orleans: An exploration of the challenges facing undocumented Latino immigrants in new and re-emerging Latino destinations. Population, Space and Place, 17(1), 89–102.
Elliott, J. R., Hite, A. B., & Devine, J. A. (2009). Unequal return: The uneven resettlements of new orleans’ uptown neighborhoods. Organization and Environment, 22(4), 410–421.
Elliott, J. R., & Pais, J. (2006). Race, class, and Hurricane Katrina: Social differences in human responses to disaster. Social Science Research, 35(2), 295–321.
Filer, R. (1992). The effect of immigrant arrivals on migratory patterns of native workers. In G. J. Borjas, & R. B. Freeman (Eds.), Immigration and the workforce: Economic consequences for the United States and source areas (pp. 245–270). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Fletcher, L. E., Pham, P., Stover, E., & Vinck, P. (2006). Rebuilding after Katrina: A population-based study of labor and human rights in New Orleans. Berkeley & New Orleans: International Human Rights Law Clinic, Human Rights Center and Payson Center for International Development Transfer.
Frey, W. H. (1995). Immigration and internal migration ‘flight’ from US metropolitan areas: Toward a New demographic Balkanisation. Urban Studies, 32(4), 733–757.
Fussell, E. (2007). Constructing New Orleans, constructing race: A population history of New Orleans. The Journal of American History, 94(3), 846–855.
Fussell, E. (2009a). Hurricane chasers in New Orleans Latino immigrants as a source of a rapid response labor force. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 31(3), 375–394.
Fussell, E. (2009b). Post-Katrina New Orleans as a new migrant destination. Organization and Environment, 22(4), 458–469.
Fussell, E. (2011). The deportation threat dynamic and victimization of Latino migrants: Wage theft and robbery. The Sociological Quarterly, 52(4), 593–615.
Fussell, E., Sastry, N., & VanLandingham, M. (2010). Race, socioeconomic status, and return migration to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Population and Environment, 31(1–3), 20–42.
Grant, D. M., Oliver, M. L., & James, A. D. (1996). African Americans: Social and economic bifurcation. In R. D. Waldinger & M. Bozorgmehr (Eds.), Ethnic Los Angeles (pp. 379–412). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Griffith, D. (1990). Consequences of immigration reform for low-wage workers in the southeastern US: The case of the poultry industry. Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development, 19(1/2), 155–184.
Griffith, D. (1999). Social and cultural bases for undocumented immigration into the US poultry industry. In D. W. Haines & K. E. Rosenblum (Eds.), Illegal immigration in America: A reference handbook (pp. 157–171). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Groen, J. A., & Polivka, A. E. (2010). Going home after Hurricane Katrina: Determinants of return migration and changes in affected areas. Demography, 47(4), 821–844.
Hadi, A. (2011). Construction employment peaks before the recession and falls sharply throughout it. Monthly Labor Review, 134(4), 24–27.
Hartman, C. W., & Squires, G. D. (2006). There is no such thing as a natural disaster: Race, class, and Hurricane Katrina. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Hernández-León, R., & Zúñiga, V. (2006). Appalachia meets Aztlán: Mexican immigration and intergroup relations in Dalton, Georgia. In V. Zúñiga & R. Hernández-León (Eds.), New destinations: Mexican immigration in the United States (pp. 244–273). New York: Russell Sage Foundation Publications.
Kandel, W., & Parrado, E. A. (2005). Restructuring of the US meat processing industry and New Hispanic migrant destinations. Population and Development Review, 31(3), 447–471.
Kaushal, N., Reimers, C. W., & Reimers, D. M. (2007). Immigrants and the economy. In C. Mary Waters & Reed Ueda (Eds.), The new Americans: A guide to immigration since 1965 (pp. 176–188). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kochhar, R. (2007). Construction jobs expand for Latinos despite slump in housing market. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center.
Logan, J. R., & Alba, R. (1999). Minority niches and immigrant enclaves in New York and Los Angeles: Trends and impacts. In F. D. Bean & S. Bell-Rose (Eds.), Immigration and opportunity: Race, ethnicity, and employment in the United States (pp. 172–193). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Lowenthal, T. A. (2006). American community survey: Evaluating accuracy.. Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau and the Annie E Casey Foundation.
Merton, R. K. (1969). “Forword.” in communities in disaster. In A. H. Barton (Ed.), A sociological analysis of collective stress situations (p. 139). New York: Doubleday and Company.
Model, S. (1993). The ethnic niche and the structure of opportunity: Immigrants and minorities in New York City. In M. B. Katz (Ed.), The “underclass” debate: Views from history (p. 161). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Morales, M. C. (2008). The ethnic niche as an economic pathway for the dark skinned: Labor market incorporation of Latina/o workers. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. Retrieved September 4, 2013 from http://hjb.sagepub.com/content/early/2008/06/12/0739986308320475.
Mullins, J. P. (2006). Recent employment trends in residential and nonresidential construction. Monthly Labor Review, 129, 3.
Nee, V., Sanders, J. M., & Sernau, S. (1994). Job transitions in an immigrant metropolis: Ethnic boundaries and the mixed economy. American Sociological Review, 59(6), 849.
Ortiz, E., & Plyer, A. (2012). Who Lives in New Orleans and the Metro Area Now. Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. Retrieved February 12, 2013 from https://gnocdc.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/GNOCDC_WhoLivesInNewOrleansAndTheMetroAreaNow.pdf.
Ottaviano, G. I. P., & Peri, G. (2006). Rethinking the Effects of Immigration on Wages. National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved February 12, 2013 from http://www.nber.org/papers/w12497.
Pais, J. F., & Elliott, J. R. (2008). Places as recovery machines: Vulnerability and neighborhood change after major Hurricanes. Social Forces, 86(4), 1415–1453.
Peri, G. (2011a). Rethinking the area approach: Immigrants and the labor market in California. Journal of International Economics, 84(1), 1–14.
Peri, G. (2011b). The impact of immigration on native poverty through labor market competition. National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved February 12, 2013 from http://www.nber.org/papers/w17570.
Porter, E. (2006). Katrina begets a baby boom by immigrants. The New York Times, December 11. Retrieved September 4, 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/11/us/nationalspecial/11babies.html.
Potter, H. (2007). Racing the storm: Racial implications and lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. Lexington Books.
Rosenfeld, M. J., & Tienda, M. (1999). Mexican immigration, occupational niches, and labor market competition: Evidence from Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta, 1970 to 1990. In F. D. Bean & S. Bell-Rose (Eds.), Immigration and opportunity: Race, ethnicity, and employment in the United States (pp. 64–105). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Ruggles, S. et al. (2010). Integrated public use microdata series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable Database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.
Singer, A. (2004). The rise of new immigrant gateways. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.
Strobl, E. (2011). The economic growth impact of Hurricanes: Evidence from U.S. coastal counties. Review of Economics and Statistics, 93(2), 575–589.
Thieblot, A. J. (2002). Technology and labor relations in the construction industry. Journal of Labor Research, 23(4), 559–573.
Tierney, K. J. (2007). From the margins to the mainstream? Disaster research at the crossroads. Annual Review of Sociology, 33(1), 503–525.
Trujillo-Pagán, N. (2007). From ‘Gateway to the Americas’ to the Chocolate City. In H. Potter (Ed.), Racing the storm: Racial implications and lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina (pp. 95–113). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Trujillo-Pagán, N. (2012). Neoliberal disasters and racialisation: The case of post-Katrina Latino labour. Race and Class, 53(4), 54–66.
U.S. Census Bureau. Summary of Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation for Census 2000. Statistical Research Division, Washington, DC. http://www.census.gov/srd/papers/pdf/rrs2006-03.pdf.
Vinck, P., Pham, P. N., Fletcher, L. E., & Stover, E. (2009). Inequalities and prospects: Ethnicity and legal status in the construction labor force after Hurricane Katrina. Organization an Environment, 22(4), 470–478.
Waldinger, R. (1994). The making of an immigrant niche. International Migration Review, 28(1), 3.
Waldinger, R. (1995). The ‘other side’ of embedded ness: A case-study of the interplay of economy and ethnicity. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 18(3), 555–580.
Waldinger, R., & Der-Martirosian, C. (2001). The immigrant niche: Pervasive, persistent, diverse. In R. D. Waldinger (Ed.), Strangers at the Gates: New Immigrants in Urban America (p. 228). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Warren, W. (forthcoming). Wage theft among Latino day laborers in post-Katrina New Orleans: Comparing contractors with other employers. Journal of International Migration and Integration. 1–15. doi:10.1007/s12134-013-0303-7
Wilson, F. D. (1999). Ethnic concentrations and labor-market opportunities. In F. D. Bean & S. Bell-Rose (Eds.), Immigration and opportunity: Race, ethnicity, and employment in the United States (pp. 106–140). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Wilson, F. D. (2003). Ethnic niching and metropolitan labor markets. Social Science Research, 32(3), 429–466.
Wright, E. O., & Dwyer, R. E. (2003). The patterns of job expansions in the USA: A comparison of the 1960s and 1990s. Socio-Economic Review, 1(3), 289–325.
Zúñiga, V., & Hernández-León, V. (2001). A new destination for an old migration: Origins, trajectories, and labor market incorporation of Latinos in Dalton, Georgia. In A. D. Murphy, C. Blanchard, & J. A. Hill (Eds.), Latino workers in the contemporary South (pp. 126–135). Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sisk, B., Bankston, C.L. Hurricane Katrina, a Construction Boom, and a New Labor Force: Latino Immigrants and the New Orleans Construction Industry, 2000 and 2006–2010. Popul Res Policy Rev 33, 309–334 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-013-9311-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-013-9311-8