Migrants, Refugees and Employer Discrimination

We investigate the labour market integration of humanitarian and non-humanitarian migrants in Australia using longitudinal data from the Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA) and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) surveys. In particular, we analyse the employment probabilities and income levels of immigrants and humanitarian immigrants who arrived at a similar time through the Kitagawa–Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition. Disparities in employment outcomes can be traced back to differences in human capital, particularly education and English proficiency. However, the analysis reveals that the main factor underpinning differences in labour market outcomes is the discrimination experienced by humanitarian migrants, which persists over the 5-year window covered by the data. The results support the conclusion that the forces of labour demand and supply are unlikely to remove the discrimination disadvantaging humanitarian migrants without targeted interventions.