Employment and Wages of Hmong and Other Southeast Asian Refugees in the United States

Hmong refugees fled from Laos to relocation camps in Thailand after the end of the Vietnam War, and thousands later resettled in the United States. We use Census microdata to explore measures of economic progress of working-age male Hmong refugees. To provide perspective, their progress is compared with that of other Southeast Asian refugees and other immigrant groups. Hmong refugees arrived in the United States with lower levels of human capital, so their economic progress was slow. Labor force participation rates were lower, and many earned low incomes in low-status occupations. Hmong men's wages grew relatively slowly.