Job security satisfaction in Australia: do migrant characteristics and gender matter?

Abstract

This paper utilises the HILDA Survey to examine the job security satisfaction of migrant workers. Using fixed effects models, stratified by migrant status and gender, we uncover native-migrant differences in the factors influencing workers’ job security satisfaction. The adverse effects of non-permanent contracts on job security satisfaction are greater for male migrants than their native counterparts. However, the job security satisfaction of male migrant workers is boosted by union membership and wage increases. Among female migrant workers, education is positively correlated with job security satisfaction. We investigate the influences of assimilation and English-speaking background on migrants’ job security satisfaction and find that the negative impacts of non-permanent contracts on job security satisfaction levels are augmented among female workers who are well-assimilated or who possess an English-speaking background. Variances in expectations between assimilated and non-assimilated workers and English-proficient versus non-English-proficient workers may explain these divergent outcomes within female migrant worker groups.