Working Paper No. 181
December 01, 1996
Which Immigrant Occupational Skills?
Explanations of Jewish Economic Mobility in the United States and New Evidence, 1910–1920
Researchers have long sought explanations for the success of Jews who migrated to the United
States at the turn of the century in attaining middle-class status. East European Jews arrived in
the United States at the same time as many other ethnic groups between 1880 and 1920, yet
achieved economic success far faster. In the search for an explanation, Senior Scholar Joel
Perlmann draws on data from the 1910 and 1920 US Censuses, which allow for comparison
among ethnic groups. One explanation offered for Jewish mobility is that the skills of Jewish immigrants—the industrial skills acquired as artisans and craftsmen—matched the
needs and opportunities in the American economy at the time they immigrated.