Transnational Migration and Labour Market seminar

This study addresses how migrant workers move across national borders and obtain jobs in the destination country by looking at the case of migrant workers in Japan. Recent research has paid growing attention to the role of migration infrastructures, which help fill the gap between migrants in origin and employers in destinations. Conversely, co-ethnic ties with relatives and friends, as highlighted by
conventional migration studies, also remain salient in making transnational mobility and job-matching processes among migrant workers in Japan. Given that the latest studies on migration infrastructures focus on private intermediaries and their relationship with the state government using qualitative data, this study provides a comprehensive assessment concerning how different types of job-search methods are related to labor market outcomes using the nationally representative survey data targeting immigrants in Japan. Moreover, we compare job-matching processes between migrant workers educated in foreign countries and those with educational degrees in Japan. Those who complete education in Japan can employ formal job-search methods commonly used by Japanese natives. We found that migrant workers educated in foreign countries tend to rely on co-ethnic ties with relatives and friends and private intermediaries to find a first job in Japan. Those with education in Japan were more likely to use formal job-search methods. Moreover, co-ethnic ties or private intermediaries connected migrant workers to unskilled jobs and precarious employment. Meanwhile, formal job-seeking methods helped migrant workers reach more desirable positions in the labor market.