The 2000-2010 Changes in Labor Market Incorporation of Return Mexican Migrants

Mexico-U.S. migration has dramatically changed in the past three decades: the pronounced increasing flow of the 1990s stalled in the 2000s and a zero net migration rate was officially reported in 2010. Deportations and economic crisis have been discussed as the underlying reasons of this change. In the context of involuntary movements, I evaluate the labor market incorporation of return migrants with respect to non-movers and internal migrants in Mexico between 2000 and 2010. Using the Mexican Census samples, I found that the reduction on return migrants’ earnings is associated to changes in both, the characteristics of returnees and in the pay rates. Specifically, changes in their occupations and higher participation in informal economy are the most important differences associated to the earnings loss of return migrants. These findings suggest that return migration in involuntary contexts restrict resources that individuals use to incorporate in the job market upon returning.