New Gateways in Sweden? Secondary Migration and Employment Careers of Newly Arrived Migrants

Karen Haandrikman , Stockholm University, Dept of Human Geography
Charlotta Hedberg, Umeå University
Guilherme Kenjy Chihaya Da Silva, Umeå Uni

Two developments point towards a renewed importance to study the regional dispersal of immigrants: the regionalization of refugee dispersal policies as well as increasing international migration flows to non-metro areas. In the US, so-called “new gateways” have arisen, referring to immigrants directly moving to smaller areas, without crossing the main gateways. In Sweden, migrant flows to rural areas have increased and diversified, contributing to repopulating sparsely populated regions. The diversification is resulting from refugee dispersal policies, but also of flows of lifestyle and marriage migrants. However, the duration of stay in rural areas is unknown. This paper will first outline if “new gateways” have emerged in Sweden, and if they are produced by new arrivals or secondary migration. Second, the study will map internal migration sequences of newly arrived migrants in rural, mid-sized and metropolitan regions. Third, the paper will analyse how these migrant pathways are related to migrants’ labour market outcomes. We use register data to examine migration pathways of all newly arrived migrants in 2002, following them for a period of 10 years. Sequence analyses are conducted to identify typical migration pathways. Seventy percent of migrants start off in rural areas and also stay in those areas, while 11 percent stay very shortly in rural areas, after which migrants move on to mid-sized cities. Multivariate analyses will show what determinants are associated with these trajectories, with a focus on employment and migrant type. Results will be discussed in light of regional spatial assimilation.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 58. Internal Migration and Urbanization