Consequences of intermarriage on descendants' labour market entry

The risk of unemployment in France is higher for second–generation North African immigrants than it is for second generations from other ethnic origins. The extent to which employer prejudice is responsible for this poor labor market outcome is subject to debate. We propose to test the role of intermarriage on descendants' labour market entry. We compare the risk of unemployment of natives and three second-generation sub-groups: people born to two immigrant parents, those born to an immigrant father and a native mother and those born to a native father and an immigrant mother. Using the French employment surveys 2006-2008, we estimate the probability to be unemployed, controlling for human capital variables, region and parents’ social characteristics. Our results indicate that second-generation North Africans born to mixed parents have a higher risk of unemployment if they have an immigrant father than if they have an immigrant mother. This difference in the unemployment rate according to which parent has immigrated is not observed in the case of second-generation South Europeans. We conclude that statistical discrimination probably plays a role in the high rate of unemployment of second-generation North Africans on the French labor market.