Chinese in the United States: A Century of Occupational Transition

Abstract

This paper examines the changing occupation patterns of the U.S. Chinese over the past one hundred years, based on the hypothesis of historic ramification that the successive legal and socioeconomic restrictions directed against the Chinese since early years would have played a major role in the shaping of the occupation structure of this minority. The presentation includes historic background, occupation accommodation (past and recent), nativity contrast, the Chinese entrepreneurship, the Chinatown sub-economy, and health status of Chinese with work experience. As a macroscopic review, interpretation of findings are confined to the drawing of general inferences, on the basis of which detailed field studies may be initiated.