Labour market entry and early careers of immigrants in Italy

In this chapter, we investigate labour market integration among immigrants in Italy, analysing the ethnic gap at labour market entry and its development over the life course to determine whether initial disadvantages strengthen or diminish. In particular, we compare native Italians with three immigrant groups: (i) immigrants who earned their highest level of education and made their first transition into the labour market in Italy (including second-generation immigrants), (ii) immigrants who obtained educational credentials in their country of origin but entered the labour market in Italy, and (iii) immigrants who both gained education and entered the labour market in their origin country. We study inequalities with respect to several labour market outcomes, including time spent and channels used to find the first job and career trajectories in occupational status. We do this following school-leavers from the time they transition from school to work and through the early stage of their working career (up to ten years from labour market entry). Analyses are based on data from the “Multipurpose Survey on Households: Families, Social Subjects and Life Cycle” (FSS, 2016).