Immigrant Workers & Families

iWin research on immigrant workers and their families is an emerging area examining job and employment conditions' effect on workers and their families.

Immigrant Workers: Work-Life Circumstances & Contributory Factors Associated with Poverty
Prinicpal Investigator: Mamta U. Ojha, MSW
Co-Principal Investigator: Jennifer Swanberg, Ph.D

Over the last three decades the number of immigrants living in United States has grown exponentially. Immigrant workers comprise a significant percentage of the U.S. labor force. Using data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce, we examine the quality of life on and off the job for working immigrants. Specifically, this project will: 1) provide a descriptive analysis of the job conditions, family characteristics and care giving responsibilities of immigrants in the U.S. labor force, 2) identify whether the job conditions, family characteristics and care giving responsibilities are different for employed immigrants who live in households above or below 250% of the poverty guideline; and 3) determine the job, family, and care giving factors associated with poverty status.

This project is supported by funding from the University of Kentucky College of Social Work. For more information, please contact Manta U. Ojha.