arXiv · 2512.17422
Hired in High Season: Seasonal Labor Demand and Refugee Labor Market Integration
Abstract
I examine whether early but temporary access to low-barrier hospitality employment affects refugees' labor market integration. I exploit within-region, within-year variation by combining the quasi-exogenous allocation of refugees to Austrian regions with seasonality in hospitality, where 25% of refugees first find work. Labor market access during high seasonal demand raises early employment probability by 3 percentage points (9% of the mean). Employment gains fade after one year, but treated refugees accumulate significantly higher three-year earnings, with no differences in medium-term wages or job quality. However, early hospitality work increases segregation into refugee-typical industries and firms with fewer Austrian coworkers.
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Felix Degenhardt. 2025-12-19. Hired in High Season: Seasonal Labor Demand and Refugee Labor Market Integration. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.17422
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