Labor Market Segmentation as an Important Factor in Research of Labor Immigration. Comparative Analysis Based on the Opolskie Voivodship Empirical Findings

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the need of taking into account the existence of dual labor markets in the majority of developed countries when analyzing research results on labor immigration. The countries most affected with this duality are the ones where immigration is still on the increase; amongst others, Central and Eastern European countries. Selected qualitative and quantitative research methods were implemented in the study. The data source was a structured questionnaire interview conducted in 2007–2008, among 91 employers and the comparison research carried out again in 2014–2015 with 263 participating entrepreneurs. In accordance with the dual labor market theory, the employers were divided into those who offered employment in the primary or the secondary labor market. The research carried out in the Opolskie Voivodship, Poland showed that those employing a foreign labor force were driven by different reasons in the primary or the secondary sector of the labor market. It was also determined that taking into account the segmentation of the labor market in analyses of results of research on labor immigration positively affected their interpretation and provided more precise conclusions.