Interplay between labor trajectory and family reproduction: the case of immigrants in Spain

Luis Alberto Del Rey Poveda, Universidad de Salamanca
Rafael Grande Martín, Universidad de Salamanca
Enrique Fernández-Macías, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

The aim of this paper is to analyze the interference between the labor trajectory of migrants and their family reproduction, in two ways: - To analyze the effect of labor trajectory on family reproduction; - To analyze the effect of family reproduction on labor trajectory. Different studies have shown the interconnection between labor trajectory and family reproductive: labor participation is stated as a factor affecting family formation, and at the same time, the formation of the family affects the labor market participation of its members. Our working hypothesis focus on the immigrant population and consider that depending on the family situation on arrival and labor background will prioritize labor trajectory or family reproduction. Moreover, we define particular hypotheses about career path considering the marital status on arrival (single, married, separated / divorced) and the number of previous children. Similarly, we define different hypotheses about the reproductive trajectory according to the career path, taking into account the initial occupation in destination and working experience in origin. These paths are controlled primarily by the time of residence, as well as by different socio - demographic and socioeconomic characteristics upon arrival (age, sex, education, reason for migration, Spanish nationality, origin). For our analysis, we use multi-variable models (logistics and multinomial) with occupational mobility and number of children in Spain as a dependent variables. The data are from the National Immigration Survey 2007. The preliminary results allow us to point to different behaviors by sex. In general, women seem to favor family over work, since most of them tend to leave work or not to work directly. But there are no significant differences in the upward or downward labor mobility between men and women. Furthermore, family status on arrival plays a key role in the career path.