Promoters and barriers to work: a comparative study of refugees versus immigrants in the United States.
BACKGROUND
Immigrants in general and refugees in specific are at risk for unemployment with detrimental effects on health and social well-being. Prior work has identified a series of barriers preventing employment among immigrants and refugees. However, these studies either fail to have a comparison group, or it is improper. The objective of this study is to compare unemployment determinants among culturally comparable Iraqi immigrants and refugees.


METHODS
A convenience sample of Iraqis residing in Michigan, who came to US after 2003, were surveyed covering socio-demographic aspects, prior and current job history, perceived barriers and facilitators to get a job, discrimination, and health.


RESULTS
results show that refugees were twice as likely to be unemployed. Lack of language skills was a bigger barrier among refugees. The results indicate that immigrants are more successful than refugees in securing a job, even after taking their pre-migration and professional experiences into consideration.


CONCLUSIONS
This comparative study showed that refugees were more likely to have a difficult time in successfully finding a job. More attention is needed to help minimize the barriers that refugees face in the employment process.
Division of Occupational & Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit MI, USA.
Hikmet
H
Jamil
Division of Occupational & Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit MI, USA.
Samer S
SS
Kanno
Student at Wayne State University.
Rami
R
Abo-Shasha
Division of Occupational & Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit MI, USA.
Mazen M
MM
AlSaqa
Division of Occupational & Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit MI, USA ; Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC) Division of Public Health, Southfield, MI, USA.
Monty
M
Fakhouri
Division of Occupational & Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit MI, USA.
Bengt B
BB
Arnetz
Employment; Health; Professionals; Stress