Restructuring, migrant labour markets and small business

Changes in global economic patterns have lead to major shifts in both international migratory flows and labour market structures in Australia. This causes a reshaping of the process whereby migrant labour is incorporated, leading to unemployment among existing migrant groups, and restriction of labour market entry points for new arrivals. Another result of restructuring is the growth of small entrepreneurship. Qualitative research in inner Sydney explores the characteristics of migrant small businesses, showing types of enterprises, conditions for establishment, motivations of the entrepreneurs, use of family labour power, and chains of interdependence with larger firms. The analysis points to the need for re-examination of theories of migration and class.