Do People with Social Jobs Fear Immigrants Less? Evidence from the European Social Survey

Immigrants face higher barriers to entry into occupations that rely on social skills. As a result, they are less likely to pose a labor market threat to workers who hold social skill-intensive jobs in the recipient country. Using data from the 7th round of the European Social Survey and the O*NET occupational database, I find that individuals in social occupations exhibit more favorable attitudes towards immigration, and favor less restrictive immigration policies. The opposite pattern holds for individuals whose occupations rely on technical, rather than social, skills. These findings are consistent with political economy explanations of immigration attitudes that focus on the role of competition in the labor market