Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Given the lacuna in empirical studies of labor market performance of Asian ethnic subgroups in the United States, this paper, using American Community Survey data, contributes to the current literature base by offering a detailed analysis of their earnings and employment. Major findings, after controlling for demographic characteristics, education and labor, immigrant status, English proficiency, major field of study, and occupation, strengthen the argument put forth in previous research that a generalization of the overachieving trait of Asian Americans undermines their diverse labor market characteristics that vary considerably between ethnic subgroups. Three distinct patterns are evident from the empirical analysis.

First, Asian ethnic subgroups differ in achieving pay parity with whites between federal, state and local government employment. Indian and Chinese men have earnings advantage over white men in federal and local government while no Asian men are found to have significant earnings advantage in state government. Asian men from minor ethnic subgroups face an earnings disadvantage in federal government while no Asian men experience a negative net minority effect on their earnings in state and local government. Japanese women enjoy an earnings advantage over white women in federal government while women from other minor ethnic subgroups face a disadvantage. Filipino women have a net minority earnings disadvantage in federal government, although they have net advantage in local government. Vietnamese and Chinese women have an earnings advantage in state and local government while the former tend to face a disadvantage in federal government.

Second, labor market performance of Asian ethnic subgroups varies between public and private sector as well as between men and women of the same ethnic subgroups relative to comparable whites. Japanese, Filipino and Vietnamese men, who do not seem to have an earnings advantage in government employment, tend to enjoy a significant earnings advantage over white men in private sector employment. In contrast, while Indian men appear to have an earnings advantage in government employment, they do not have such an earnings effect in private sector. Chinese men, however, are likely to perform comparatively well in both public and private sector employment. Although some of Asian women still face considerable earnings disadvantage in government employment, everyone seems to have a pay parity with comparable white women in private sector.

Third, both Asian American men and women from most of the ethnic subgroups tend to be considerably advantaged relative to comparable whites in occupational attainment. However, despite higher occupational attainment, few Asian Americans, e.g., Korean and Vietnamese women in federal government, face significant net minority earnings disadvantage over comparable whites.

Overall, the findings strengthen the demographic heterogeneity approach to explaining socioeconomic attainment of Asian Americans. Previous research confirms heterogeneity as an essential feature of Asian American populations taking account of their extremely diverse sociocultural attributes as well as different strategies for earnings and employment. The current paper helps to understand the heterogeneity of their labor market characteristics by demonstrating relative status of their earnings and employment in both public and private sector of the United States.